Pokemon Rust - Volume Two
by Bast13
Summary: A prequel to Steel and Copper's Johto Journey where there's the story behind the 17 years of disaster that plagued Kanto, Johto and Hoenn. *Rated T for blood and death*
1. Chapter 1

**Hey guys! :D**

**I'm sorry this took so long but it was one of those dialogue heavy ones that's a b**** to write. Anyway, welcome to Volume Two!**

**Just as a heads up, Volume Two will be a bit different to One and Three because instead of a clear continuous story it'll be a bunch of different events throughout the sixteen years before Volume One but they'll be in chronological order.**

**Hope you enjoy! :D**

* * *

The sky was dreary and full of clouds over the usually cheerful Cianwood City. Chuck's bare feet were covered in wet sand and the ends of his red trousers were salty and sodden. The sandbags' weight was nothing to his but he'd been working since early that morning and the repetitiveness of the task was tiresome. There were people and Pokémon lining sandbags across the shore and Chuck was working the hardest out of all of them, it was his city after all.

The winter storms had brought along flooding across the city and the water was now seeping into several houses. There had been no electricity in any building since that one case of electrocution but thankfully it hadn't been fatal. Chuck thought that it had been pretty bad so far but he knew that it could've been much worse if there hadn't been a mountain to the west of the town blocking out the majority of the harsh winds and waves.

A screech pierced the rhythmic sound of the ocean and every head turned to the sky. The source of the sound was large and metallic but alive. It was a bird-like Pokémon with large choppy crimson wings and a sharp looking face. It flew in low circles above the island and Chuck was looking at it with an annoyed expression, or more accurately at its trainer.

"Walker! What are you doing!?" he yelled to the skarmory and it swooped down. Its wings whipped up the ocean water and soaked Chuck's trousers even more. The skarmory's trainer jumped off its back, his one sided smirk was emphasised by the feather in between his teeth.

"Hey Chuck. What's going on?" Walker readjusted the goggles atop his blonde hair and he looked around Cianwood and the several walls of sandbags lined up against the beach.

Chuck rolled his eyes at his old friend, "I'm surprised you stopped flying for long enough to notice."

Walker chuckled and put his arm around Chuck much to the gym leader's annoyance, "In a perfect world I'd fly forever but a guy's gotta land sometime."

"You gonna help or are you going to get back on Skarmory?" Chuck asked gruffly.

Walker raised his hands in protest, "I'm here to help." Chuck unloaded one of the bags he was carrying onto Walker who followed his friend to one of the houses they were guarding from the water. "I hear Hoenn has it worse though. It has all those islands around it and the storm was centred right around there."

Chuck placed the sandbag in front of one of the wooden houses and went over to get another one from near the Pokémon centre, "Speaking of Hoenn, I've got a meeting over there today."

Walker placed his sandbag and reached for another, "I'm glad I don't have to deal with those anymore. What's it about?"

Chuck shrugged, "Don't know but I think it's a full league thing. I know Jasmine's going and so is Brawly and Watson, can't see much in common there."

Walker grinned, "If you see Falkner, say hi for me." he placed the bag down and blew part of his fringe out of his face, "How you're getting there? 'Cos Skarmory is ready."

Chuck laughed under his moustache, "I thought you were here to help."

Walker chuckled, "Hey I'll happily help an old friend especially if helping includes flying."

Chuck placed the final sandbag and looked to the sky then to Walker, "I know you'll want to go soon but I'll stay here for as long as I can. I don't want more of my people sleeping with tentacool around their feet."

Walker put his hands behind his head, "Is it that bad?"

"The tide's come in at the moment but last night we were all up to our knees in sea water. I don't want a repeat of that, thank you very much."

Walker walked up to Skarmory and jumped onto its back. "Do you want me to tell Jaz you'll be late?" he asked and Chuck nodded before returning to his work. Walker smirked and his skarmory cawed, raising its wings and readying itself for flight. "I'll be back in a few days. Tell me if anything interesting happens." the skarmory flapped its large metal wings, shooting into the sky with Walker fearlessly on its back. Chuck knew that no-one could guess when he'd be back, his friend had always been traveller, but it was always nice seeing Walker even if it was just for a short time at one of the worst times. Chuck returned back to the work and the monotonous atmosphere of the Cianwood beach that had replaced the relaxation there.

"Thank you!" Jasmine beamed. Walker was hovering outside the lighthouse and talking to her through the thin windows panes. Usually she would have fretted if someone else had done this but from the short time where they'd both been gym leaders she'd learned that he was too stubborn to listen to any warnings. Some people found it a 'cool' trait but Jasmine couldn't see past the danger he was in. _Thank goodness Falkner's more level headed than that_, she thought.

Walker's skarmory darted off and she sighed. _Poor Chuck_...Jasmine looked sadly south to where she could see Cianwood in the distance. She hadn't realised the storms had caused flooding there. Jasmine called out her own skarmory and bid farewell to Amphy, who she'd been looking after, before opening the sky light.

Skarmory nudged Jasmine affectionately with its metal beak, which hurt more than Jasmine let on, and flapped its wings enthusiastically but Jasmine hesitated. She'd never been a big fan of flying especially when she'd been a rock specialist but all the ships going to Hoenn had been cancelled due to the extreme weather so it was all up to her to organise transportation.

She mounted Skarmory and tightly held onto the metal feathers on her Pokémon's neck. She knew Skarmory would never let her fall off but she often found that hard to remember that when she was way up in the sky.

They flew through the sky light and Jasmine momentarily unclenched one of her hands to check which direction she had to go in. She directed her skarmory eastward to Hoenn and shot off. The journey wasn't so long for such a quick bird but that was still about an hour of straight flight.

Jasmine never quite understood why they called it 'Ever Grande City' since the only buildings on the island were the Pokémon centre and the Hoenn league and even then there was a massive mountain in between the two. She landed on the northern side of their victory road, the side with the league building, but was surprised to see the ground covered in a layer of water and mud. The cliffs of the island were tall and sheer. The fact that some waves had hit the land made Jasmine start realising how severe the weather must have been.

They landed in the mud and Jasmine looked worriedly down at the water and then to her pale blue dress and beautiful sandals. She sighed sadly before taking off her sandals and cautiously jumping off her Pokémon's back.

Her bare feet were instantly covered in dirty water and Jasmine cringed. She returned Skarmory and made her way on tip-toes to the building.

Someone was waiting at the doors for her. He was tall, well-built and wore orange tinted sunglasses resting on his blue hair.

"Good afternoon," she greeted and Brawly grinned back at her but Jasmine could see something was troubling him.

"Hey, you okay?" Jasmine nodded but a sudden breeze kicked up the dirty water and splashed the hem of her dress. Brawly opened the large doors, using a flat foot to stop the water getting inside, and Jasmine quickly stepped inside. Brawly slammed the door shut and brushed away the water with his orange and black surfing shoes.

"Is it like this _everywhere_?" Jasmine asked sadly while looking around the lobby.

The tiled floor was covered in streaks from the mops that leant against the two desks and the orange carpet was darker from damp. Every time Jasmine had been to the Hoenn league there'd been computers buzzing with cheery receptionists behind them but today Jasmine couldn't see them and the computers had been unplugged and stranded on the desks with their cables bunched up and away from any water. The lights were out and she could assume the electricity was too. She walked further into the lobby and wiped her feet on the dryer part of the carpet before putting her sandals back on.

"Yep. I could barely find time to get away from Dewford. It's pretty much underwater at the moment." Brawly replied, shaking the water from his shoes.

Jasmine frowned, "Then why are you here?"

He and Jasmine started moving towards the main corridor, "That's what this is all about. Me, Roxanne, Tate and Liza, Watson, Chuck, you and Norman coming along with the elites. We need outside help and dry, safe places for those who're injured."

Jasmine's eyes widened, "People were injured? Oh, of course I'll help."

Brawly grinned happily and held the meeting room door open for her. She nodded her head slightly in appreciation as she entered the room.

The room was painted white, large and mainly occupied by a very long table. One of the walls had windows that stretched from the floor to the ceiling which must have been a lovely view on an ordinary day but all Jasmine saw were gloomy skies and a grey churning ocean. Most of the Hoenn trainers Brawly had mentioned were already sitting there along with Jasmine's local elite four and Lance. She smiled at each one as she grabbed her seat one away from Will but very few returned it.

Watson smiled back along with Tate and Liza. Will was leaning back at a dangerous angle and smirking but everyone else looked grimly serious.

"Great, so now all we're waiting for is Steven, Winona, Wallace and Chuck." said Brawly as he sat down next to a particularly frustrated Roxanne.

Jasmine suddenly remembered, "Chuck might be late. He's had to deal with some problems in Cianwood."

"That's a shame." the usually neat champion walked in with Winona and Wallace behind him. Steven's light blue hair was damp and Winona kept adjusting her winged helmet but Wallace looked like he always did. Steven sat at the head of the table and Lance looked displeased at having to sit to his side rather than a seat of power like he was used to, "I was hoping everyone would be here by now."

The door swung open and Chuck walked in, everything about him from his brown hair and moustache to his ragged trousers were wet and windswept from flying here. He sat next to Jasmine and Steven straightened up in his seat.

"Now that we're all here we can finally begin this meeting." Steven said, "As you probably know by now Hoenn has had a lot of severe flooding from the winter storms and we need outside help to move the injured."

"Can't you move them to other parts in Hoenn?" Karen asked.

"We've already moved as many as we could but there are few unflooded areas to move them to. Our people are scattered and it would be an almost impossible task to have them evacuated with only our resources especially since all the cities nearby the island ones are flooded too." Winona explained.

"Is that why Chuck and I are here?" said Jasmine, "Because Olivine and Cianwood are the closest to Hoenn?"

Steven nodded, "The majority of the flooding is in the south east and it would take too much effort to move them across Hoenn and to one of the other regions."

Jasmine grinned, "I'd love to help. I'm sure I could find plenty of places in Olivine. But my city might not be able to take too many." she added sadly but then her smile returned, "But I'm sure Morty would love to help them too!" Phoebe smiled thankfully then looked to Chuck, who crossed his arms.

"Cianwood's too small." he said bluntly. Jasmine looked to him with pleading eyes but he didn't unfold his arms, "It's not my fault they built towns in flood zones." he said scathingly and Jasmine gasped, scandalised. She turned to the elite four and Lance.

"It's a fact that Cianwood's too small to host more than its current population." Karen stated.

"Your cities may be too small but ours are underwater! Pacifilog town was completely destroyed !" Roxanne shouted, standing up angrily.

"Roxanne," Steven's tone was calm but Roxanne knew an order when she heard one. She sat back down but continued glaring at Chuck, "It'll be fine once they realise…" Steven flinched and a vein in Chuck's forehead pulsed.

"Realise what!?" Chuck demanded but Steven didn't speak, fearful about how his words would be interpreted, "I'm not gonna just _back down_. Cianwood is an island that's having enough problems as it is without having more dumped on it!" he stood up and stormed out of the room, slamming the door on his way out and sent a shocked silence crashing down on the others.

"He's right you know." Will said, breaking the frigid silence but piling on more tension. Lance glared at him with gritted teeth, trying to get him to shut up, but Will either didn't catch on or didn't care, "I mean Cianwood's nowhere near big enough for more people. It would be like trying to get an eggsecutor into an eggsecute costume." Karen joined Lance in glaring at Will and he finally stopped talking.

"You can send some to Olivine. I'll try help as many as I can and I'm sure Morty would help too." Jasmine offered.

Steven pulled himself away from staring at the door, "Thank you. But we can't make any decisions until we consult Morty."

Jasmine flipped open her pokégear, "I'll see about Morty."

Steven held up a hand to stop her, "No, we'll reconvene tomorrow. A lot of citizens need our aid and we've spared all the time we could."

Jasmine nodded in understanding, "I'll tell Morty."

And with that everyone started to get up and leave the room. Jasmine was glad to be helping but she felt her head flickering to where Chuck had stormed out.

* * *

**EDIT: I thought the meeting was too fast paced so I had to re-write it :P**

**And thus starts the downwards spiral of problems.**

**Hope you enjoyed this chapter and please review with any comments, questions or suggestions for the story. I want this to be the best fic it can be! :D**


	2. Chapter 2

Jasmine was just escorting the last people off the ship when Morty showed up. He'd answered her call the day before and had rushed to Hoenn to sort things out immediately just as she'd expected which might have been for the best since Jasmine probably couldn't have handled someone else refusing to help such poor souls.

The moment she'd seen the victims her heart had melted and she'd sworn to help then even though that had meant admitting she couldn't help them all. Overcrowding Olivine City would have done nothing useful so she'd been glad when Morty had agreed to take some in as well.

Jasmine jogged up to Morty with an appreciative smile on her face. He was on the shore and facing the ocean and was waiting for her.

"Thanks Morty," she called as she gracefully walked over to him.

"No problem. I'm always happy to lend a hand to those who need it." he smiled warmly.

Jasmine looked sadly back to her city where they were preparing houses for those who'd lost theirs, "Poor them. All their homes are underwater and we don't know when they can return."

"Don't worry about it. With people like you helping out they'll sort this out. I mean, it's not like it's the worst thing that's happened to them."

Jasmine remembered what had happened five years ago with Groudon and Kyogre. If it wasn't for Brendan there might not have been a Hoenn to flood. Jasmine shook her head, not wanting to think of such awful things.

"It's great that you're helping. Olivine can only hold so many." she admitted.

Morty frowned, "Are you okay?" he asked and Jasmine realised she'd been looking to the sea, looking to Cianwood, distractedly.

She forced herself to look back to Morty and smile, "_I_'m fine but I can't believe...I just didn't see it coming. But I bet _you_ did."

Morty folded his arms thoughtfully, "If I did I would have warned you."

Jasmine realised her attempt at lightening the mood had backfired so she changed the subject, "Should we go over and help him? Walker mentioned him having problems."

Morty shook his head, "I don't think that would be wise. Chuck can get pretty fired up; we should probably just let him be."

"It must be bad for him to yell at the Hoenn gym leaders like that. After spending all day trying to help people they had to endure that."

Morty nodded and opened his mouth like he was about to say something but then closed it as he clenched his eyes shut. "Morty?" Jasmine asked and he opened his eyes. They were momentarily unfocused until he stopped and focused on the island in the distance.

"Where is that ship going?" he asked worriedly and Jasmine followed his gaze, her eyes widened in fear.

* * *

"It must have been a mistake!" Steven cried. He was eyeing Chuck's clenched fists nervously.

"Sure," Chuck scoffed, "I'm gonna break your face, pretty boy!" he growled and before anyone could intervene Chuck threw all of his bulk into a punch aimed at Steven. Steven was thrown to the floor and everyone dived at Chuck.

Bruno and Koga were holding him back while Phoebe knelt next to Steven who was wincing and holding his head painfully.

Sidney and Drake advanced, "What the hell was that!?"Sidney yelled but Chuck was fuming.

"How _dare_ you insult us this way!" Glacia spat and Lance stepped between the two groups.

"Stop this. Stop before you do something you'll regret." he ordered, addressing both sides.

"This is why leadership shouldn't depend on battling." Phoebe muttered while helping Steven to his feet.

Lance met Steven's eyes and saw nothing but cold steel, "Steven…" he began but Steven interrupted, he shook off Phoebe who looked at the two champions nervously.

"No! This is last straw Lance! After promising to help us all you've done is resist! Hoenn is _done_ with Johto _and_ the Indigo League!"

Lance looked taken aback, his mind told him to bridge the rapidly growing divide but his pride was bruised, "You didn't follow the rules set out." Lance said defensively, "Violence wasn't the way but…" once again he was interrupted by Steven but this time it was by him throwing a pokéballs. He was glaring at the Indigo league elite four as a side of his face blackened.

"You don't want to fight me Steven." Lance warned but Steven's metagross was growling alongside its trainer.

Phoebe reached forwards and grabbed Steven's shoulder, "Don't!" she pleaded but Steven was livid.

He clenched his fists and resisted the urge to raise his hands to his face which was beginning to pain quite severely, "_Never_ cross Hoenn again or you'll face the wrath of our region!" A mismagius drifted from behind Phoebe as Steven called back Metagross. They flashed quickly before vanishing and leaving Sidney, Drake and Glacia behind.

Glacia and Drake turned their backs on the other elite and walked through the doors but Sidney paused. He glared at Chuck with loathing and sneered, "Cianwood will be ours." he threatened before walking off to join his colleagues.

Lance, Karen, Koga, Bruno and Will were left alone with Chuck. The air was so full of anger it felt like the room itself would explode. There was a silence but it was filled with anger. Karen was shooting daggers at Chuck while Will's emotions were hard to read underneath his mask. Lance and Koga were grudgingly accepting their lack of bulk but Bruno tightened his grip on Chuck's shoulder. Koga wisely stepped away while Bruno brought his free fist up and drove it into Chuck's face. Chuck withstood it but he clenched his eyes in pain. He looked away.

"What the hell was that!?" Bruno bellowed.

"You damn prideful bastard!" Lance yelled.

"Why didn't you leave that to us!?" Koga demanded. Their eyes were glaring at the unmoving but furious gym leader but their heads turned to Will's mirthless laughter.

"What are you laughing at?" Koga asked angrily.

Will was laughing but under his mask, where no-one could see, his eyes showed true terror, "You've gone and done it now!"

"Done what?" asked Lance.

"Like it or not…" Will chuckled.

Karen looked away, "We're at war." she finished.

* * *

Phoebe had teleported them further into the building and once the pressure of the meeting room had been lifted he immediately went to lean on one of the tables. Steven put his head in his hand and thought, going over what had just happened in his mind. The right side of his face was really starting to hurt now and the memories weren't helping.

Phoebe wasn't talking. She was shocked too but more at Steven. This was not what they needed now of all times and as a leader he'd just failed that. Kahto had been a valuable partner and in one moment of rage he'd thrown that away.

He slammed his fist down on the table and Phoebe yelped. Steven looked over to her and straightened up. He breathed rhythmically to calm himself down and started going through what had happened with Lance.

Steven knew that it would be too difficult to resume a partnership with the Indigo Plateau. It would be as difficult as unburning a bridge. He didn't hate them but he knew that every single one of them had a large pride which often got in the way of things. They were fierce and respectable trainers but as leaders…_Maybe Phoebe was right_...he thought like a nonverbal mutter.

Phoebe went up from behind Steven and he looked away, ashamed. She was handing him an ice pack. He took it gratefully and realised where she'd teleported them to. They were in the infirmary.

"Thank you."

Phoebe looked at him with confused eyes, "This isn't something that's going to blow over is it?" To answer her question the door burst open. Glacia and Drake walked in and they both looked livid.

"I can't believe that _brute_ would call himself a gym leader." Glacia and Drake seemed to have been insulting the Indigo Elite as they'd searched for their champion.

"How did you find us so soon?" Phoebe asked. She wanted to sound curious but everyone there could hear slight annoyance.

"You wouldn't have let Steven be." Drake explained, "It was either here or back at the fields but I expect you'd want to help him as soon as possible. We can't have our Champion walking around with a black eye."

Steven breathed deeply to remain calm, "I want you two to return to Slateport and Lillycove city. There are still homeless people with no dry shelter and I expect there'll be more rain tonight."

"You expect us to _ignore_ such an attack?" Glacia asked and Steven stood up determinedly.

"This is no time to battle over bruised egos. I will not allow Chuck to get away with assault but now is not the time. We have displaced and injured citizens to deal with."

Drake raised a hand to his hat and looked away, "That may not possible Steven."

"What do you mean?" Steven asked, concealing his fear with an inexpressive mask.

"He refused to let them think they'd in any sense won." Glacia said, "So he threatened Cianwood."

Steven didn't know how to react. He hadn't been vainly expected matters to 'blow over', he'd known their elite four for too long, but he'd hoped for Lance to mutually accept that Kahto and Hoenn couldn't fight without disastrous consequences but after someone from Hoenn had threatened Johto…

"Lance would never idly sit by as Cianwood was attacked." Steven said.

"You don't expect us to apologise, do you?" Glacia asked indignantly.

Sidney walked into the infirmary at that moment, "Apologise? I didn't realise you would even consider rolling over."

"No." all the options ran through Steven's mind but he had to admit to something. As the pain grew so did his resolve, "We're not going to apologise but I'm afraid we may have now burned that bridge."

* * *

**Hope you enjoyed this chapter and please review if you have any comments, questions or suggestions for the series! :D**


	3. Chapter 3

The gears in Lance's mind had been spinning furiously ever since Sidney had threatened Cianwood City. Lance was a great leader, he was good at spotting people's strengths and incorporating them with others, but it was the whole 'negotiations' part of his job that he was bad at. Lance's mind strayed too often to battle and in cases like he this he found himself stuck.

Chuck had assaulted Steven and Steven had rightfully got angry but it was Sidney that had changed a situation which they could have talked out into one where the two champions were backed into corners.

Lance was reaching for the room's door knob when he paused, "Why are you here?"

Jasmine stepped forwards and was looking at Lance with a determined expression, "I'm here to try talk you out of doing anything too rash. This can still be resolved peacefully."

"I'd like to believe you," Lance said honestly, "But I can't simply stand by as a city is threatened. If Olivine was attacked you'd want help." Lance opened the door, "If you have any ideas I'm all ears." Jasmine followed him into the room and began rattling off suggestions but Lance kept rebuking them with an increasing gloom.

"Can you get Chuck to apologise?"

"He's not backing down."

"It could have been a hollow threat."

"It could not be."

"Can't we talk to Steven?"

"He's refusing contact." Lance sighed and sat down. There was a large screen on the wall facing his chair but at the moment all it showed was a black screen, "Jasmine, you can try to contact the Hoenn elite, they might listen to you, but for now I need you to leave."

Jasmine nodded and exited the room, almost immediately after pulling out her pokégear. Lance watched her leave before turning to the screen and turning it on. Professor Oak's image flashed onto the screen.

"What did Birch say? Is Steven taking offensive action?"

Oak mouth was open but wordless for a moment before he started talking, "Professor Birch told me the Hoenn league isn't likely to back down. He says that unless Kahto does something soon they'll have no choice but to fight."

This was the answer Lance had been dreading, "How are we supposed to do that when Steven is refusing contact? I've asked Jasmine to try get through to him but I doubt it will work."

"Are you sure Chuck won't do something?"

Lance shook his head, "He told me himself that he will not let Cianwood be taken, even if it means a war."

Back in Professor Oak's lab, one of the other screens he kept on his desk sparked to life and revealed a picture of Birch.

All of Birch's words were indecipherable to Lance but once the Hoenn professor was finished Oak relayed his words to Lance with a worriedly shocked face.

"It seems that Drake, Glacia and Sidney are indeed calling for war."

Lance's eyes widened, "That can't be serious. Their region is flooded and Kahto combined is a much larger force than Hoenn. Why do they think they can fight us?"

"Birch doesn't know many details himself. All he knows is that the elite is furious and are giving the Indigo league two options, to apologise or face them."

Lance's face fell. This had descended too quickly into a matter of prides and he knew that it was one Chuck would not give up. He also knew most of the Kahto gym leaders would consider apologising a sign of defeat.

Lance turned his chair around to focus on the small window, not wanting to look at Oak at that moment, "I suppose we have no choice but to ready ourselves."

Oak couldn't believe what he was hearing, "What in the world do you mean? You're risking your region _and_ Hoenn just because you won't apologise?"

Lance spoke defensively, "I know Chuck won't back down. We must be ready to counter any type of attack in case Hoenn _does_ attack."

Oak was still incredulous, "But..."

"Just remember that Chuck was Blue's teacher. He won't run." Lance turned around quickly so he didn't have to face Oak before turning off the screen. He sat there was a silent moment. What had he done?

He stood up and went to open the door but found it was already opening. Clair halted outside the door, her hand on the door and looking down the corridor.

She looked at Lance, "Is what Will said true?"

Anger crept into Lance's voice, "What did he say?"

Clair straightened up and put her hands on her hips, "He told us that we were at war with Hoenn." she waited for Lance to deny it but when he didn't she started glaring at her cousin. "You did what!?" she yelled, "You and the other four went to Hoenn just to discuss flooding and you came back with a war!?"

Lance clenched his fists, "Steven didn't follow the rules Chuck set up and then Sidney threatened Cianwood City."

"Why would Sidney do that? Hoenn would have no chance against two regions especially since they've just had flooding." her tone was knowing and Lance realised that Will had told them much more than Lance would have liked.

"How much _did_ Will say?" he asked with the tone of defeat he only let show when he was with Clair.

"Blue and I were both in the league when Will burst in, talking about how Chuck _punched_ Steven and Sidney declared war. Was he telling the truth?"

Lance barely managed to stop himself punching the wall, "Why in _hell_ did he do that!?"

Clair shrugged, "Only Karen knows what goes on in his mind but what I want to know is what you're going to do about it."

"We have to prepare and ready ourselves in case Hoenn _does_ attack us. We will not make the first move."

Clair nodded, "I'll see if the other gym leaders will join us." she walked out and left Lance once again alone. He called out his dragonite and greeted it briefly before stalking off to find Will which shouldn't have been hard considering stealth, or for that matter discretion, was a foreign term to him.

* * *

The gym leaders of Johto and Kanto were all sitting around one table in the Indigo Plateau, all but Jasmine, Morty, Bugsy and Erika. They were a very odd looking group whose outfits ranged from a kimono to a harlequin's to a ninja's. Lance was trying not to get angry at a few of the people there, namely Chuck and Will.

"As you probably know by now Hoenn has made a threat against Cianwood City," Lance began, "And Oak has informed me that they do intend to make an attack." Lance didn't feel the need to mention the condition when Chuck would outright refuse and at least nine of the gym leaders there would be outraged at the thought, "Under no circumstances are we to attack them but if _they_ attack we must be ready."

"There _is_ a way we could win before the fighting starts." Sabrina said slyly.

"What? How?" Lance asked and she smirked.

Sabrina leant on the table and waved her hand in the direction of the Johto map that decorated the table along with maps of Kanto, Hoenn, Unova, Sinnoh and Kalos. "We just so happen to have citizens of Hoenn amongst us. It seems that they're awfully close to Cianwood." she mused, allowing the others to fill in the gaps.

"What!? You can't be serious!" Misty cried.

Sabrina's tone was monotonous but in the way that made her sound constantly scheming, "Serious about what? I'm merely suggesting possibilities for those who clearly do not wish for battle." her words were pointed at Misty who gritted her teeth.

"They've done nothing yet. We can't just threaten innocent people." Lance said, "And there's no chance Morty or Jasmine would stand for that. They both said that they won't get involved in any conflict so we don't have that kind of leverage."

"All we need is a warning." Pryce explained, "We know that we're stronger than Hoenn, especially after their region has been so devastated, so there's a chance they won't even attempt an attack but if we set up a watch on the area between us then we can be prepared."

Falkner raised his hand off the table, "I can do that."

Lance shook his head, "I don't think Violet City should lose its gym leader. We can't worry the citizens over what may be nothing." he looked to Bruno, Karen, Will and Koga.

"I will take the first watch." Koga volunteered.

"We can't tell anyone else about this." Clair's gaze was fixed angrily on Will, "It'll just spread panic." she looked to Falkner and Whitney, "It's obvious why Jasmine, Morty and Erika aren't here but do you know why Bugsy's absent."

Whitney shrugged, "He probably left his pokégear at home while he's off looking for bugs. I don't know where he is and I didn't ask."

Falkner chuckled, "Either that or he's down the ruins of Alph."

Clair rolled her eyes, "Just find him. We need to gauge how much support we'd have if it came to fighting."

Brock spoke up, "About that. What if it does come to that? What will we do?"

"We'll defend ourselves." Lance said simply, "Some of us would have to protect the area between Hoenn and Johto to try and stop any attack before it reaches Cianwood but we'd need people to protect Johto if that fails."

"I can fight against them." Chuck said.

"But it's not like I'll let them gang up on you." smirked Surge.

Blue nodded, "I'll fight if they attack."

"But we'll need to be in more places like that." Everyone looked to Surge with confused faces, "On its own Johto wouldn't have had a chance against Hoenn. No offense." he added insincerely when he saw Clair glaring at him, "But Hoenn knows it's outmatched against Kahto so it'll need to hit strong and fast." he pointed the Indigo Plateau's location on the Kahto map, "They'll almost definitely attack the Indigo league and as a bonus they'd be possibly cutting off any help from Kanto."

Lance looked at the Hoenn map thoughtfully, "Pryce, Sabrina and Brock should go to the league if an attack from Hoenn is predicted. That way we'd be protected from explosive, energy or physical projectiles."

"Do you really not trust the plateau's present defences?" Sabrina asked.

"I hope we need not use them." Lance said honestly.

* * *

Despite the ice pack one side of Steven's face had become a large bruise. He was torn with indecision and found he was being silent while the Hoenn elite argued against Phoebe.

"If we don't do something they're gonna attack us!" Sidney yelled.

"They wouldn't do something like that! They don't want war as much as we do!" Phoebe protested crossly, she couldn't believe the elite would be so blind.

"They have our people. We need to rescue them before they're used against us." Glacia said.

"No." Steven said, "Jasmine said that she and Morty would protect our citizens and wouldn't participate."

"You spoke to Jasmine? What happened to 'Never cross Hoenn again or you'll face the wrath of our region'?" asked Winona and Steven clenched his teeth.

"She wanted to tell me something very important. Lance is readying the Indigo League for war and is being informed about our actions from Professor Birch."

Norman raised an eyebrow, "How's that possible? He hasn't been to his lab so he couldn't contact Kahto."

"Apparently Oak has been relaying the information."

"They're just trying to negotiate a peaceful solution. WHAT'S WRONG WITH THAT!?" Flannery's second sentence was much louder as if she thought her first was too passive sounding.

"The problem is that they _weren't_ trying to end this. They were using this to plan." Steven's voice sounded tired.

"Speaking of planning, we should start." said Roxanne.

"How can you just accept this?" Phoebe asked incredulously.

Roxanne raised her hands defensively, "I agree the situations aren't ideal but have you heard the phrase 'You might as well win'?" Roxanne ignored Phoebe's shocked face, "There's no way we can attack Johto without Kanto getting involved so that means we're outnumbered about nineteen to ten if you don't count Morty, Jasmine, Watson, Brawly, Tate or Liza. Since Fortree City is one of the only untouched cities and air travel is the quickest I suggest Winona leads the attack. It's a shame that Tate and Liza aren't here though."

"We don't _need_ type advantages. If anyone should know that it's me." said Norman.

"It's still good to have." she explained, "And since we're that outnumbered I think we should attack hard and fast here." Roxanne pointed to the league and looked expectantly at Flannery, "You should be able to manage that."

The expression on Flannery's face clearly showed she didn't want to but Flannery nodded anyway. Normally the league would have talked to her and encouraged her not to put on the façade but they had larger problems than her confidence to discuss.

Steven was silent while the others talked. His fingers were laced and his face appeared thoughtful but inside he was such a mass of emotions he couldn't even decipher how he felt. Well, not quite. He could understand one thing, he felt utterly hopeless.

* * *

Oak had his head in his hands while he told the other professors about what Lance had said and what he was planning to do.

"He'd really risk war?" Professor Elm asked worriedly and Oak nodded.

"What are _we_ going to do?" Sycamore wondered.

"We can't join for obvious reasons. I'm sorry Samuel but the other regions will have to be neutral in this conflict." said Rowan.

Birch opened his mouth to protest but he sighed in resignation, "Right…You can't interfere without taking sides. Sinnoh's on good terms with Johto but then again Kalos and Hoenn have always been partners…"

"We can't do anything except negotiate to stop it." Juniper summed up.

"But Lance pretty much declared war!" Oak protested.

"So it's up to us three to try talk sense into the leagues?" Birch asked and Juniper nodded sadly.

"Even if _we_ do anything it could be seen as favouritism and I don't think Iris, Calem or Cynthia would like that."

"I'll see if I can…" Birch spotted his lab's door opening and hurriedly turned off the screens. He got out of his chair and found Norman walking in. His footsteps echoed loudly in the almost empty lab and Norman seemed to have something troubling him.

"Hello," Birch greeted anxiously.

Norman crossed his arms and sighed, "Did you tell Oak about what our league's planning?" he asked, trying to get this over with.

"What?" Birch was surprised by his old friend's sudden interrogation, "Why?"

Norman didn't meet the professor's eyes, "Jasmine told Steven that you had and just wants to know what side you're on."

"'Side'? There aren't any sides yet. I just want to avoid a war."

"It's too late for that." Birch's eyes unconsciously flickered to the screens, thinking he had to warn Elm and Oak. Norman furrowed his eyebrows, "That's what he means. Nothing will be accomplished if Kahto knows all our plans." Norman forced himself to turn and walk out, "You can't contact the other regions." he said finitely.

Norman walked outside with a heavy heart while Birch battled with himself inside his lab. He had to warn the Indigo League. The way Norman had phrased everything made him sure that Hoenn were planning to attack soon but he realised how serious Norman had been. They'd been friends for years and he knew that by betraying Hoenn he'd also be betraying him. Even though Norman used to live in Johto he seemed to hold no loyalty and was going to fight.

Birch made up his mind. With robotic and halting movements he moved his hands towards his computer's keyboard and typed a short message.

_This is my final message. Steven doesn't want me contacting you. Heads up._

* * *

**It was a choice between Norman or Oak. Whether he made the right one is up to your opinion. ****War has been declared and thus begins the long one and a bit years of fighting.**

**I hope you enjoyed this chapter and please review! :D**


	4. Chapter 4

The image of Birch abruptly turned to black and his sound was cut off. Oak's hand sped to his keyboard, searching for whatever problem made the Hoenn researcher disappear.

"Birch?" Oak called as he typed rapidly. He saw the other professors looking confused as well.

"He's gone on my side too." Juniper affirmed and their others voiced how it was the same on their ends.

"Does anyone know what just happened?" Rowan asked.

Sycamore stroked his chin, "I think I heard something off screen. Maybe someone came in and he didn't want them to hear?" Juniper furrowed her eyebrows and continued typing something while the others kept wondering what had happened.

They saw Oak pause. The message from Birch had just come through on his computer. They all waited the short moment it took for Oak to read the e-mail but then he shot out of his chair.

"What is it?" Elm asked nervously.

"You have to warn the league!" Oak cried.

"W-what?" Elm took out his pokégear but paused, "What am I warning them?" he knew but he hoped it would be something else.

"I just received a message from Birch and-and…"

"What is it man!?" Rowan demanded.

"It says he cannot contact us anymore and that Hoenn's going to attack!"

Elm almost fell back in his chair, "I'll tell them immediately!" Elm's screen turned to black and Oak turned to the screens but stopped halfway. His face fell as he realised that the only professor who could help him now was Professor Elm.

"G-good luck." Juniper said. It didn't feel like enough but it was all she could think of. The screen's simultaneously turned off and Oak grabbed his pokégear. He knew he was trapped from there on. Lance's meaning had been perfectly clear to Oak. Blue wouldn't run and wouldn't abandon the war. Since neither Daisy nor Oak could abandon Blue they were both trapped.

* * *

Even in Lance's nightmares that day hadn't come that quickly. The wind howled in his ears and blew his black and red cape fiercely. Elm had warned them about an incoming attack only a few hours before Karen reported seeing activity across the ocean.

Lance, Karen and Clair were hovering above the sea. The tension was so thick that they felt like they were choking and the ball of regret inside Lance was growing to an painful degree like when you're on the incline of a rollercoaster.

Clair was to his side on her dragonite. Her face was grim and determined but she looked to her cousin and smirked assuringly. Lance didn't return it but nodded, he didn't understand how to any kind of positive spin on this.

_If only Steven had ended this while he had the chance_, Lance clenched his teeth together angrily. He knew that Kahto would win but that wasn't his worry, it was how much Hoenn would have to go through before it surrendered and now Birch was forbidden from talking to Oak all their attacks were going to be surprises.

Lance cleared his mind so he could focus on his mission, to stop them from getting to Cianwood. He breathed deeply but found that hard to do. The wind was picking up and the air was blasting his face. But a shout managed to make its way to Lance's ears.

Something was shooting towards them everyone braced, "Draco meteor!" Lance commanded and his dragonite roared. A ball of energy shot into the clouds above and from then on it was a pandemonium.

The swellow in the distance was dodging the raining meteors but while it was distracted Lance shot ahead. Lance held onto his dragonite as extreme speed sent it rocketing into the battle and Lance saw Winona having to do the same thing when her swellow fell out of the sky. It had taken a direct hit from extreme speed and was now spiralling towards the water.

"Ice punch!" Lance yelled and they flew downwards too. Dragonite pulled back its icy fist and sent swellow crashing into the sea but without its trainer. Lance looked behind him and saw an ice beam being shot at them. Dragonite spun around and caught the ice beam with his fire punch. Lance sighed in relief, he was a champion against a mere gym leader defeat should be easy, but then he remembered his mission.

He looked around to check for any more Hoenn trainers but when his head was turned Winona attacked again. An air slash crashed into Dragonite's back and Lance flew off. He landed on his flygon's back and a gasp escaped his lips. That was not a trick we wanted the chance to repeat.

Winona was now on top of an altaria and trying to fly away. Lance urged his flygon to fly faster and catch up but Clair was already there. Her dragonite was emerged in flickering blue energy while she was standing on her salamence and it collided into Winona's altaria, knocking out yet another one of her Pokémon.

"Move!" Karen yelled and Clair flew out of the way while a blast of wind from Karen's honchkrow blew Sidney and his mandibuzz in the direction of the two dragon masters.

Clair's salamence hydro pumped mandibuzz and its trainer out of the air but Lance's flygon suddenly jerked upwards. Lance realised it had been hit and looked down to see Norman and his castform shooting attacks upwards at the flying Pokémon.

"Solar beam! Fire punch!" Lance's flygon began to glow as it collected energy while Dragonite flew at Norman. Dragonite was blown back by a sudden icy wind and seized up. It fell to the water encased in ice and Norman began surfing onwards with his linoone while his castform kept freezing the dragons.

Lance clenched his fists as solar beam missed the speeding linoone but saw Clair jump from her salamence into the ocean and break the surface atop her kingdra. Once it used agility Norman had no chance.

They were now ahead of Norman and he was forced to dive off his linoone as a dragon pulse came hurdling his way.

Sidney and Karen were still locked in a heated battle and Clair was taking care of Norman so Lance flew around the battles and searched for Winona. She and her pelipper were attacking the opposing flying Pokémon just above the waves.

Lance's flygon headed towards the gym leader but were spotted. Ice beams were shot in his direction but Flygon was a surprisingly agile for such a large Pokémon. He flew out of the ice's path and hit the pelipper with an ineffective u-turn while Lance leapt onto his dragonite.

Flygon flashed the red of returning to a pokéball and Lance's salamence appeared in its place, "Stone edge!" Lance commanded and rocks flew at Winona again. She gritted her teeth and Lance saw her take out a pokénav after flying out of reach.

He paused hopefully and Winona shot to where Norman and his castform were fighting Clair. Lance pursued her but dragonite wasn't fast enough to stop her from picking up Norman on the tropius she'd called out.

Clair, who'd been knocked back into the water by castform, swam to her kingdra and watched as the two shot off. The two gym leaders seemed to be retreating and the Kahto trainers dared to hope but then Sidney suddenly appeared.

Kingdra and Dragonite reared up in apprehension as Sidney's mandibuzz knocked their trainers off with a dark pulse. Lance and Clair crashed into the cold, salty water and Clair shouted a command angrily while rubbing the water off her face.

A mass of water erupted from her salamence's mouth and though Sidney's mandibuzz tried flying out of the way it did so haltingly and was hit anyway. Sidney's irises narrowed in fear as his mandiuzz flickered like a hologram and disappeared, revealing his zoroark. They plummeted to the ocean but another one of Winona's birds flew to his rescue.

"Ice shard!" Karen ordered and her weaville leapt into the air, pummelling the birds with sharp ice before being recalled again.

Sidney glared loathingly at the Kahto trainers before barking an order into his pokénav, unable to be heard above the winds. Winona flew in between the Kahto and Hoenn sides on her pelipper. Lance couldn't hear what attack she called out but the next thing he knew was Pelipper flapping its wings furiously and blowing the Kahto trainers away while they retreated.

"Come back and fight!" Clair yelled but Lance held out his arm to stop her and her salamence.

"Let them go. Maybe this will convince Steven he can't beat us."

Karen was already flying away but was speaking to Lance via pokégear, "I doubt this will convince them. It was two gym leaders and an elite versus a gym leader, elite and champion. They'll count this as an unfair victory."

Clair and Lance exchanged annoyed glances before Lance flew off, leaving Clair on watch while he contacted Bruno. He looked angrily in the direction of Hoenn as he talked. The first battle was their victory but Lance knew the war had just begun.

* * *

Later that day Lance asked Koga, Janine, Karen and Misty to meet him at the Plateau. Misty looked around wondering what Lance wanted, I mean the trainers didn't have much in common.

"Now Steven's not allowing Oak or Birch to contact each other there aren't much opportunities for predicting Hoenn's next moves. That's why I've called you four here. Our positions at the moment are entirely defensive so we'll need to take some offensive action. I want you four to go to Ever Grande City and keep us informed on Hoenn's plans."

Koga nodded, "I believe we could do that. I expect we'll need some sort of base in Hoenn so I recommend the Victory Road caves. They're large and dark which makes them perfect for undetection."

"Why do you want me to go?" Misty asked, "I'm not exactly known for stealth."

"The ocean between Hoenn and Johto will be heavily guarded by both sides. You'll be there for transportation and communications." Lance explained.

"How long do you expect us to be hiding out in Hoenn for?" Karen unconsciously played with the ring on her finger as she crossed her arms.

Lance shrugged, "As long as this takes I expect." he answered unsurely. Karen rolled her eyes but didn't question him any further.

Koga stood up, "I'll lead this mission." he volunteered, "We'll set off as soon as we're ready." Lance nodded as Koga and his daughter walked out, presumably to go to Fuchsia City. Misty said good-bye and went out so it was just Lance and Karen in the room.

"I don't think they'll surrender that easily Lance." Karen chastised and Lance glared at her, "You've got to stop holding back. Norman used to live here but he was still a part of the first attack."

"What are you suggesting? I hold the Hoenn victims hostage like Sabrina said?" Lance asked angrily.

Karen shook her head, "You know I didn't mean that." she stood up and strided out the door with Lance mulling over her words. He forced himself to listen to them. He stopped several times and was hit many times where he could have easily dodged the attacks. Lance slammed his fist on the table at his indecisiveness.

* * *

**Hope you guys enjoyed this chapter. I sadly won't be updating so frequently for the next week because of some coursework I have to do but I'll try.**

**Please review with any comments, questions or suggestions for the series :D**


	5. Chapter 5

Karen, Misty, Janine and Koga were all wearing headsets. While Misty was out scouting out the Victory Road caves Karen was sitting in a dark cave with nothing but a small laptop. She would not have guessed a few weeks ago that she'd be stuck in a cave for goodness knows how long. Koga and Janine were sneaking into the Hoenn league building and Karen knew that Koga wouldn't want her breaking the radio silence just to complain about matters.

Janine and Koga were one with the shadows. They were expertly and silently avoiding the security cameras while darting onto the ceiling whenever they heard a noise. Koga threw his shuriken pokéball which opened noiselessly to reveal his muk who immediately minimized.

Though he was now invisible to the naked eye Koga knew that his muk was entering the meeting room to record anything important that went in on there.

"Dark4, Muk is in position." Koga shortly said into his headset.

Karen rolled her eyes at the codenames, not sure how they'd hide their identities from anyone but a five year old. She typed something on the laptop and the feed from Muk's camera came up, "I've got it." she affirmed.

Koga nodded and the two ninja were about to continue down the corridor but they heard footsteps and darted onto the ceiling, using ditto to blend into the white paint.

"Stay out of this Phoebe!" they heard someone say crossly.

"No, _you_ stay out of this, Roxanne." Steven was saying tersely. The champion, Roxanne and Phoebe came into view with all three of them sporting annoyed faces, "I didn't want this to begin with."

Roxanne crossed her arms, "Well you're in it now, but it can all be over soon. They _are_ guardians of Hoenn."

"Kyogre and Groudon are violent, uncontrollable legendaries. Team Magma and Aqua already tried and it's only thanks to Brendan and May that we're here now."

Phoebe nodded, "There have only been a few attacks. We can still end this if we act now diplomatically."

Roxanne scoffed, "'Diplomatically'? Look at Steven's face! It's an example of their 'diplomacy'!"

Steven quickly glared at her before sighing and turned to Phoebe, revealing his bruised side to Janine. Janine didn't gasp but she looked to her father with wide eyes. He nodded briefly before looking back. Nearly everyone in the league knew that Chuck had punched Steven but she didn't realise how awful a punch from the gym leader could have been.

"We can't end this now." Steven continued sadly and Phoebe frowned. His head whipped around to face the gym leader before she could even speak, "Utter destruction is not the way. If you want to something other than bother me you can look up the Kahto legendaries who are actual guardians."

Roxanne scoffed, "Ho-oh and Lugia? One word, rocks."

Steven shook his head, "Not how to fight them, with their power we wouldn't get the chance. I want you see if there's any chance of summoning them and if you could stop it."

Roxanne was momentarily silent in thought, "I know that Ho-oh has strong connections to the two towers in Ecruteak city."

Steven quietly sighed in relief, "That should pose no threat to us."

Roxanne looked unconvinced but didn't press the matter any further. She nodded and the three of them started walking further up the corridor to the meeting room.

"By the way, Flannery's getting into position."

Steven looked back at her, "How long will she take?"

Roxanne shrugged, "They have to go the long way around so it'll take a day or two before they'll be able to attack."

Steven opened the door and they went inside, away from Koga and Janine. The corridor was empty but Koga knew that he couldn't risk a long talk. He signalled for Janine to follow him and they made their way outside.

Karen was watching and listening intently as Steven, Phoebe and Roxanne walked into the meeting room where they were being unwittingly recorded by Koga's muk. They were talking about the first battle between Karen, Sidney, Lance, Winona, Clair and Norman but there wasn't anything new.

"Dark4, this is Poison4." Koga began. Karen looked away from the screen but remembered that it was just the audio from the headset.

"Yes?" Karen asked boredly.

"We overheard plans from Steven, Phoebe and Roxanne."

"Yeah, they're in the meeting room talking about me, Lance and Clair."

"There is an attack on the Indigo Plateau planned for the next few days and there are plans concerning Groudon and Kyogre but it's not likely to happen."

Karen nodded, "WaterG?" she asked into the headset.

"Ka-Dark4?" replied Misty's voice.

"I need you to swim out and contact Lance. Tell him about Kyogre, Groudon and the attack on the plateau. Anything else Poison4?"

"They were talking about Ho-oh's connection to Ecruteak City." Janine said, "They know that Morty's not related to the war but Roxanne didn't seem so convinced."

Karen pondered this then shrugged, "Roxanne's just a gym leader. Steven's decision will always outrule hers. Morty'll be safe, plus it's not like they'd attack their own people."

Misty nodded, "Okay. I'll be going out of range for a while, bye." Karen could practically see Misty's grin. Karen straightened up on the rock she was sitting on and continued watching the footage of the meeting room. She was amazed that someone could be so happy in the midst of such gloomy circumstances but even though Karen spent most of her time in the dark she couldn't help but appreciate the light.

* * *

Sabrina's black hair rippled in the gentle wind. Brock and Pryce were gazing at the ocean past route 26.

"The preparations have been completed." the sudden break in the silence made Brock jump lightly. The two turned around to face her, "Do you know when they're going to attack?"

"Do you, Miss Psychic?" Brock asked. The black bracelets on her wrists glowed green as she clenched her fists.

"My powers are psychokinetic." _Psycho indeed_, Brock thought but he didn't dare say it, "I'm no seer." she crossed her arms and looked to Pryce, "Speaking of which, does he have any information for us?"

Pryce shook his head, "He's declared neutrality. The only reason he'd help either side is if he foresaw a catastrophe." the swinub on Pryce's lap started squealing and scrambling around. The gym leaders' heads turned to the sky, "They're coming." Pryce warned.

Sabrina raised her hands to the sky along with her and several other psychic Pokémon scattered around the plateau contributed their power until all the sky they saw had a slight pink tinge. Brock called out his onix and Pryce his mamoswine. The three looked around in apprehension until Pryce spotted something in the distance.

"Sabrina, can you let me shoot through the shield?" Pryce asked with his large mamoswine looming protectively over the old man.

Sabrina nodded and held out her hands again and the pink hue began even more diluted, "It's one way now."

Pryce called out more of his Pokémon including his Jynx and his Lapras. The projectiles were clear in the sky now. Flaming boulders were headed their way and coming closer with every moment Pryce waited. Lance had set no clear leader but even Sabrina couldn't help but respect Pryce's knowledge and seniority. Brock and Sabrina were ready along with some people from Mahogany Town, Pewter and Saffron City but were all waiting for Pryce's order.

"Now." he commanded and attacks erupted from the Pokémon, sailing through the shields as if they were nonexistent. They hurdled across the sky and were on a collision course with Flannery's attacks.

It seemed impossible that such a barrage of Pokémon moves could have failed to destroy every projectile Flannery had sent at them yet the sky above them seemed to shake with the boulder hitting the shields.

Sabrina looked smugly at Brock, "There's no chance I'll allow such a second-rate trainer to break my shields." she called out Alakazam and Brock's eyes widened. Sabrina pointed to some incoming rocks and smirked. The following charge beam obliterated the last few boulders. Brock was amazed how it attacked with prompting from its trainer but after all he'd seen there wasn't really any reason not to believe in her abilities.

The cascade of boulders had stopped but everyone was still breathing nothing but tension in the air.

"Will they come to us?" Brock asked Pryce but the old man turned his wheelchair around to face the plateau.

"No. It's her job to wear us down. She's the long term plan."

Brock furrowed his eyebrows in a confused manner, "I thought they were attacking the Plateau because they wanted a short victory."

Pryce returned all his Pokémon except for Swinub, "I expect they've realised that is no longer an option." Brock didn't go inside with Pryce. He just stood still with the realisation dawning on his face that this wouldn't be over as soon as he'd hoped.

Sabrina rolled her eyes at Brock and returned all her Pokémon as well, "I hope you're up to it." she said as she walked past him. Brock stayed outside for night watch but what he was really hoping for was an opportunity to mull over his thoughts while he watched the clear, dark jewelled sky.

* * *

With Koga and Karen's knowledge of the Hoenn plans and the Elite Four's watch over the ocean and Pryce's defence of the Plateau many of Hoenn's first attacks failed to pass into Kahto but Hoenn was determined not to end the war without making at least one move.

Falkner's eyes darted suspiciously to the flying silhouette in the distance but before it came into visibility his pokégear buzzed, alerting him to an incoming call.

"Hello?" he said to the caller who responded with a chuckle.

"Hey Falkner. Just so you know I'm coming soon so don't try to shoot me out of the sky." Walker hung up and left his son rolling his eyes with the hint of an impressed smile. _Try_, Falkner mused, _As if we could ever hit him_.

As he'd promised it was the ex-gym leader on his skarmory that came into view. He flew up to his son's pidgeot and smirked.

"Did you see anything on your way here?" Falkner asked.

Walker looked back at the ocean, "No. I bumped into Bruno but I didn't feel like stopping."

"Walker!" someone on the ground called. The two looked down at Lt. Surge on the beach. Skarmory swooped down closer to the beach and Walker jumped onto the damp sand while Falkner remained in the sky. Surge readjusted his shades as he smirked, "You here to help or just observe?"

"You didn't even have to ask. I'm not the kind of person who'd let someone gang up on a friend."

Surge gestured to Falkner who was flying above their heads and surveying the sky, "So are you gonna join Falkner's team?"

Walker put his hands behind his head, "Think of me more of a maverick than a soldier. I'll be flying and fighting but I won't be taking any orders. Has there been any action yet?"

"Some fires at the Plateau and a couple of fights across the ocean but nothing's reached us yet." he said almost sadly.

Walker looked up at the sky, "Yet." he said cryptically.

Surge raised an eyebrow, "What's that supposed to mean?"

Walker raised his hands defensively, "The Elite's pretty good but we can't underestimate people as determined as those in Hoenn. You of all people know that."

"Yeah. It..." Surge was cut off by the beeping of his pokégear. He flipped it open and raised it to his ear, "What is it?"

Walker jumped onto his skarmory, predicting what Surge's caller was saying. Surge looked back to him and nodded. With a raised voice he addressed all the people on the shore, "Get ready everybody! Bruno's in pursuit of some Hoenn Pokémon coming our way!"

The people who'd been nervously lingering until that point immediately stirred, calling out Pokémon or setting up some defences on the buildings. Chuck jogged up to Surge and saw as Walker headed into the sky.

"How long do we have?" he asked with his Poliwrath next to him.

"Fifteen minutes at best. They sped past Bruno before reinforcements could get there but Lance and Clair will be arriving soon."

Chuck cracked his knuckles, "Tell 'em 'Don't bother'. It's you, me, Blue, Walker and Falkner here. Do you know who they sent?"

Surge shrugged, "All Bruno saw was Drake and Winona but there'll be more than that."

Chuck nodded and raised his fists, "When they attack, I'll let my roaring fists do the talking."

* * *

**I always thought is was weird that Chuck's title was more of a description than an actual title.**

**Next time will be the first battle to take place in Cianwood City.**

**I hope you enjoyed this chapter and please review with any comments, questions or suggestions for the series. :D**


	6. Chapter 6

Winona, Drake, Sidney and Norman were speeding past the ocean, knowing that Bruno was on their tail with Clair and Lance not far behind. They knew that Cianwood would be difficult to breach with all the inevitable defences.

Norman was looking in the opposite direction and using his castform to shoot ice into the ocean, hopefully delaying Bruno's pursuit. Winona, Drake and Sidney were charging ahead with their flying Pokémon.

Winona spotted some birds in the distance and she urged her altaria to fly faster. She shot ahead of the two elites and she noticed the birds' trainers doing the same. She grumbled to herself that they were clearly outnumbered from the start, especially with Brawly, Watson, Tate and Liza in other regions, but she refused to believe they were outmatched.

As Winona flew closer she recognised the Pokémon, a skarmory and a pidgeot. She'd met the two flying masters beforehand so she understood exactly who she was up against.

The tension of awaiting battle chilled Falkner more than the harsh winds up in the sky but if he was honest with himself that wasn't what he was nervous about. He'd never felt comfortable in his role as the Violet City gym leader just because he knew he'd never be as great or a talented as his father yet he found himself in the sky, somehow his equal. He was glad that his father was there though. Now they could show Winona who was the better flying type master.

"Tailwind." he commanded to his pidgeot and soon it was whipping up a massive wind flowing in the direction of the incoming attackers. Not only would this speed up their attack it would also halt their movements.

Walker gave a sideways smirk to Falkner before shooting off on his skarmory, "Swift!" he called and his skarmory reared its head, preparing for the attack but Winona struck first.

"Sing!" Winona commanded and her altaria began crying melodiously. Falkner's eyes widened in shock but Walker seemed unfazed.

"Metal sound!" Skarmory opened its metallic beak, swift having failed, and emitted a horrifically loud and clattering sound that forced Altaria to wince in pain but Winona was protected by her winged helmet. She was about to attack Skarmory when Falkner and his pidgeot flew from underneath, colliding with the power of brave bird. Winona barely held onto her altaria and would have been thrown off by the next attack if a fire blast from Norman's castform hadn't stopped them.

Winona and her altaria flew off and Falkner turned to follow but Walker held out his hand, "They can handle her. Focus on slowing the others down!" Walker shouted above the winds. Without hesitation Falkner obeyed and faced the oncoming Drake and Sidney.

Mandibuzz and Salamence shot at the two who were forced to stand instead of evading their attacks and potentially letting them reach Cianwood City.

It was brave bird against brave bird and thunder fang against steel wing. The following collisions erupted in several powerful impacts, enough to knock Falkner and Drake off their mounts before falling onto a quickly summoned Flygon and Fearow.

"Go!" Sidney yelled to Drake but Falkner's eyes narrowed in determination. While Drake was turned away Fearow's heat wave was blasted at him.

Drake was thrown forwards once again and tumbled into the ocean but Falkner didn't expect something like that to disturb a sailor. He was right. Drake's flygon and salamence shot to their trainer's aid along with Falkner's pidgeot. Walker was busy fighting Sidney so Falkner shot towards the sea and Drake's two Pokémon.

Chuck, Blue and were standing on top of a cliff along with a few others from Cianwood. They were scanning the horizon for the Hoenn Pokémon, knowing that how competent both Walker and Falkner were they wouldn't be able to hold off an Elite for long especially since Winona was with Drake. Blue's aerodactyl was hovering overhead while Raichu and Poliwrath were both standing near their trainers.

Without warning Surge shouted, "Focus blast!"

Raichu held its paws slightly apart and a ball of blue light gathered there quickly before shooting into the water. Chuck and Blue followed the ball's path to where Surge had spotted something.

Chuck recognised it and turned to his poliwrath, "Use bulk up," Poliwrath nodded shortly before quickly glowing.

Blue had spotted it too. Someone speeding through the ocean on a linoone. As silly as it sounded Blue had to give Norman credit for not looking ridiculous as he rode a freaking _linoone_ into battle. A castform was hovering nearby while shooting the water in their wake with ice, creating a trail of icebergs behind them. The focus blast barely missed the target and the three gym leaders saw Norman look up at them. Castform turned to them and a large fire blast shot their way.

"Fire blast!" Blue called and Aerodactyl shot the star-like flame towards the attack while Surge called out his electrode.

Norman kept shooting at the cliff while the gym leaders and Cianwood people began sending blasts at him which his quick linoone kept dodging to everyone's frustration. Aerodactyl was once again forced to block the fire blast with another fire blast but suddenly, unnaturally, darks clouds began gathering and swirling around Cianwood.

Chuck looked to the electrode and Surge who smirked, "Let's see how he handles one more disadvantage."

They looked over to Norman's castform who glowed and contorted the moment a raindrop fell on its white body. It's round head twisted into a blue teardrop shape while it's lower body became grey and fanned out.

The rain began falling more harshly and Surge cracked his knuckles before pointing at Norman with gusto, "Thunder!" he yelled and both his electrode and raichu sparked before erupting in electricity.

Blue and Chuck had to look away or they would have been blinded by the sudden burst of light under the now dark sky like Norman was. His attention immediately switched to the thunder coming his way and knowing that it wouldn't miss in weather like this his mind raced, "Prot-" he started but before he knew lightning had struck. The impact sent him hurdling into the ocean and momentarily into unconsciousness but his linoone, who'd managed to stay conscious after getting halfway through protect when the thunder struck, dragged him to the surface.

Chuck punched his open palm and looked to Poliwrath, "Waterfall!" he yelled and Poliwrath leapt off the cliff, propelled by the water surrounding it. It was planning to get to Norman but instead it was knocked into the cliff by Sidney's sudden bone rush.

"Sidney!" Chuck growled, "Poliwrath, use waterfall!" Poliwrath recovered itself and shot at Sidney and his mandibuzz who'd only just managed to get past the tailwind.

Mandibuzz began glowing with a red then blue energy. It shot towards the speeding Poliwrath but then Chuck yelled something at his Pokémon. Sidney's eyes widened as the water supporting Poliwrath stopped and its fist started to glow with blue light. Mandibuzz realised the change in attack too and tried to stop as it flew right into Poliwrath's focus punch.

Not only did Mandibuzz get the recoil damage from using brave bird but the combined efforts of that and the focus punch knocked it out. Sidney was now falling but so was Chuck's poliwrath. With gritted teeth Surge turned to his electrode and commanded it to use magnet rise.

While its power wasn't enough to stop them falling from such a distance it did tremendously slow their descent. Sidney wasted no time in calling back his fainted mandibuzz and throwing out his sharpedo.

Norman steadied himself on his linoone and held a pokéball in his hands, remembering what had happened to Sidney at the battle of the conflict. He threw it like a grenade at the cliff, yelling a command as he did.

Blue, Chuck and Surge watched as the pokéball flew at then exploding at the very last seconds into his exploud who opened its massive square mouth and unleashed hyper voice on the two, blasting them off their feet onto the mud. Blue quickly recovered and sprang to his feet but by then Exploud had already been recalled.

"Clever," Blue admitted, "But let's see you get out of this!" he threw a pokéball down into the water and his gyarados burst out of the water.

Sidney and Norman were realising just how outnumbered they were, especially when they weren't on land, when Drake and Winona began flying towards them.

Chuck saw Falkner and Walker shooting attacks at them as the Hoenn trainers fought against the tailwind protecting Cianwood but just before the two flying type masters could catch up they broke through the tailwind into the rain.

Winona's honchkrow used heat wave and Blue, Surge, Chuck, Sidney and Norman winced at the sudden rise in temperature.

Drake's salamence shot at the cliff but Blue steeled himself. "Use ice fang!" he yelled and aerodactyl flew open mouthed at the dragon, its teeth ringed with ice, and bit down. "Hold it," Blue called as he looked to Surge.

"Now!" Surge commanded and all the Kahto Pokémon shot attacks at the four Hoenn trainers. Drake and his salamence were blown back but they weren't anywhere near giving up yet.

Though weary Norman was still using his Exploud to fight Blue's gyarados as they stood on Winona's tropius. The fact that they were limited to swimming or flying Pokémon was definitely a problem they'd have to discuss with Steven later.

"Thunder fang!" Drake called to his salamence and they sped towards the gyarados while Blue was yelling commands, now on his aerodactyl.

Winona dived at Chuck who was standing with Surge while they both called out orders for their Pokémon. He quickly threw out Hitmonlee who leapt at the honchkrow with sparking fists.

Honchkrow rapidly dropped and let Hitmonlee fly over its head but Winona wouldn't let Chuck go that easy. She was hanging from Honchkrow's leg and began to swing. She used the momentum to jump onto the cliff, the first person to from Hoenn to do so since the conflict started.

Raichu's thunderbolt shot from behind Chuck and charged at Winona. The bolt startled her so she was easily pushed off the cliff where her honchkrow was waiting. Winona growled at the two as Drake shot upwards on a flygon and appeared into their view.

Boomburst hit the ground and blasted the two off their feet as Drake leapt onto the cliff. Chuck blindly chucked a pokéball in their direction as he got to his feet with Surge nearby. Drake expected it to go off and for one of Chuck's Pokémon to be quickly shot down by his flygon but instead it hit his face, hard. Drake's face turn red from both the sudden hit and indignance but then Machamp burst into the battle, its four arms raised and ready to attack.

"Use dual chop!" Chuck yelled as Machamp lunged for Flygon and Chuck dived at Drake. Drake, surprised at Chuck's attack, rapidly raised his arms to block the Dojo Master's blow while his flygon had to do the same. knew that Chuck could cover them so he began aiming for Sidney who was standing on his sharpedo down below while Winona kept trying to get at Chuck.

Winona and her honchkrow swooped down onto the cliff, ready to attack Chuck while he was occupied, but Falkner had finally caught up with her.

Winona whipped her head around to see the young gym leader's fearow blast them with heat. She raised her arms to shield her eyes and yelled for Honchkrow to use an attack but then Surge's raichu hit Honchkrow from behind. Winona barely held on and her teeth were gritted in anger.

She watched as Falkner seemed to just make a throwing motion despite not throwing anything. She shrugged it off and ordered Honchkrow to use icy wind.

The cold bit at Falkner and Fearow's wings seized up and became rigid. They were falling when Walker stopped fighting Sidney and his sharpedo and flew over to his son while having Walker's Pidgeot use heat wave. Fearow thawed out and regained flight at the last second.

"Use flash cannon!" Walker yelled and Skarmory's beak opened wide as metallic gathered there. Winona's irises shrank in fear as Walker was aiming right at her.

She sent out her swellow and returned her Honchkrow as she leapt onto the faster Pokémon. She sped away with the aid of the tailwind but even then the metallic beam barely missed Swellow's tail feathers. Skamory swept flash cannon across the battle, hitting numerous of the Hoenn Pokémon but expertly missing all of the allies.

Chuck jumped back from the battle and pointed to Flygon, "Rock slide!" he called. Machamp raised all four arms and with that motion several large rocks rose into the air. Drake knew that Chuck wouldn't care if it was him or his Pokémon that took that. He ran to the edge of the cliff and onto his flygon, bracing as the rock slide sent it hurtling backwards.

Sidney meanwhile was being plagued by thunder which, thanks to the infernal rain, wasn't missing sharpedo. He was soaked to the skin himself and feared that one of the bolts would miss sharpedo and hit him. They'd only survived this long by having Zoroark take some of the electricity that would have long since fainted sharpedo. Not that Surge was the only problem he faced. He and Norman were too busy trying to juggle fighting a gyarados, a skarmory and several fighting types from Cianwood.

Gyarados' head whipped around like it was doing a hammer throw as its outrage tried to get at Tropius and Sharpedo. Blue hovered near Gyarados on his aerodactyl and shouted orders to the Pokémon, trying to hit the two Hoenn trainers. Surge's thunder was definitely helping to wear them down but Blue noticed Sidney's tricks with his Zoroark.

Everyone was occupied with fighting so Blue didn't know how he could organise some sort of push to get them out of there among the pandemonium. He got out his pokégear and tried calling Surge, unable to shout above the rain, Pokémon cries and the wind, but he didn't pick up.

"Gyarados!" Blue yelled, "Use earthquake!"

Gyarados spared a confused glance at its trainer before using the attack. Norman on Winona's tropius looked just as confused. Gyarados was in the ocean and nowhere near the cliff so all the attack did was stir up the water though that only affected Sidney.

Sidney went one knee, no longer able to steady himself while standing on Sharpedo's back. He looked to Blue who was flying high on his aerodactyl and glaring at him.

"Aqua jet!" Sidney commanded and he was forced into the ocean as Sharpedo shot off into the sky. Blue shot a meaningful look to Surge and realisation dawned on Sidney's face.

"Hyper voice!" Norman commanded, noticing Surge acting out of the corner of his eye. Thunder erupted once again and shot towards Sidney. It would take too long to call out a Pokémon so all he could do was try to get away but the harsh waves made that difficult.

Sidney cried out as lightning struck near him but he quickly fell silent as he fainted. Norman recalled Exploud and ordered Tropius to fly faster.

Tropius pulled Sidney out of the water just as Drake's voice could be heard in the four's pokégears. They had no choice but to retreat. Norman and Drake wanted to continue fighting but even they could understand that would be going in over their heads.

Chuck watched angrily as the cowards fled and someone used sunny day to clear up the skies. The rain stopped but everyone was drenched in either rain or seawater. Blue, Walker and Falkner flew over to where Surge and Chuck were fuming.

"So those bastards just ran." Surge was grumbling.

Blue landed next to them, "But they probably won't attack soon. They're dependant on people like Winona and it'll take some time for them to recover."

Walker rolled his eyes angrily, "It's only thanks to tailwind that she'll get that time."

Chuck nodded then unexpectedly he smiled, "Good job everyone. I'm sure one of these days we'll finally beat it into Hoenn's head that they won't beat us."

Surge gave Blue and Falkner a thumbs up, "Yeah, good work kids."

Falkner crossed his arms but didn't say anything about the 'kids' comment. He looked to Fearow and mounted the Pokémon, "I'll tell Lance about this." he flew off and once he was in the sky, away from other ears, he groaned.

He couldn't believe he'd let Drake and Winona get to the fight at all. His father's tailwind idea had been ingenious but as he went through the battle in his mind he couldn't think of a moment where he'd really helped. Lance had given each of the acting gym leaders some sort of general status during the conflict but he couldn't help but feel that his father would have been the better choice for Violet City.

The air around the plateau looked vaguely purple so it didn't come as much of a surprise when Fearow seemed to land in the middle of the air. He looked inside the shields and saw Sabrina surveying the horizon with a calculated stare. Fearow rapped its talons on the shield and she immediately looked up. With a vague trace of a grin on her face she raised her hand and the solid air beneath them disintegrated. Fearow dropped suddenly before regaining altitude and descending in a controlled manner.

Falkner didn't say anything to her but shot her an annoyed look as he returned Fearow and went inside.

* * *

**I hope you enjoyed this chapter and please review with any suggestions, comments, or questions! :D**


	7. Chapter 7

"What happened to you?" Phoebe cried as the two men stumbled into the room. Sidney's black jacket had a massive burn hole in the shoulder while Norman was looking generally scarred and bruised.

Norman raised his hands proudly to stop her racing forwards, "It's nothing." But his eyes were full of rage. Steven walked into the room and his eyes widened at the sight.

Sidney sat down on one of the chairs and looked angrily at the champion, "With us restricted to just the air or water they're just kickin' us down the stairs."

Steven silently thought, "What do you mean? Do you want to back out?" he asked inexpressively so no-one could read his emotions.

"No way. Just because you want to doesn't mean the rest of us will."

Steven's face flashed with anger before composing itself, "I'm not going to surrender but what do you suggest we do about our disadvantage."

Phoebe and Glacia walked over to the sitting Norman and Sidney, Phoebe with her mismagius and Glacia with her frolass.

"What in the world happened to you two? When Drake and Winona passed by they weren't nearly as damaged." Glacia interrupted.

"Ask Surge." Norman said bitterly.

Steven looked to Sidney for more details.

"The bastard used thunder on us both. Norman was lucky not to get hit but it was like I had a target plastered across my forehead out there."

Glacia shook her head, displeased, "I can't believe you, an elite four, would let a mere gym leader send you running home."

Sidney glared at her before looking back to Steven who was stroking his chin thoughtfully, "Just as we would want to battle Chuck I expect that you are Kahto's target." he paused and motioned to leave the room, "I'll send Wallace next. As unfortunate as it is we'll have to rely on flying or water types."

Sidney rolled his eyes, "Didn't you forget something? Surge is one of Chuck's mates. It's not the smartest move directly sending someone who specialises in water types."

Steven looked back as something occurred to him, "Who else was there?"

Norman ticked them off his fingers as he went along, "Chuck, Surge, Blue, Walker and Falkner. All of Chuck's friends really."

Steven quickly did some planning in his head, "That means the only one of us who could go into that fight without some sort of disadvantage is Drake. Let's face it, this was never going to be easy."

Steven walked out and left Glacia and Phoebe to treat Sidney and Norman's burns.

* * *

"Wow. Have you seen the state of those two?" Karen asked into her headset.

"Who?" Misty asked as she sped across the ocean on her seaking.

"Norman and Sidney. It looks like Surge fried them from what I can tell. They're not seriously hurt." Karen added to assure Misty.

"Is there anything important, Dark4?" Koga asked in a short and annoyed tone. Karen may act more mature but sometimes she can be just as easily bored as Will.

"Next time Steven's sending Wallace and probably Drake. They just realised that for every trainer they have we have someone who can outmatch them."

"After Surge defeated Norman _and_ Sidney they're sending in the water type specialist?" Janine affirmed incredulously.

Karen nodded despite no-one being around to see it, "That's what I meant by them realising they have no advantages against us. Sidney just pointed that out."

"Radio silence." Koga ordered and both Misty and Karen stopped talking. Koga must have been near someone.

Karen consulted the screens and saw from Koga's point of view a very disgruntled looking Winona walking past. She stormed into a room where Karen didn't have any bugs so she looked away from the screen. Though she was fed up with being stuck in a cave all day for longer than she ever would have liked she was pleased with the information they were getting. So far they'd warned Lance and Chuck about most of the incoming attacks and it was only because of the unbugged rooms that the Hoenn forces had ever managed to reach Johto waters.

She threw out Houndoom and petted its head rhythmically. While her eyes and ears were focused on Hoenn her mind drifted to Kahto. Somehow petting Houndoom's short black fur made her feel strangely of home.

And so the battles raged on. Each similar but different. Different Pokémon, different trainers, different areas but all of them ended up the same way. Hoenn had not left Cianwood untouched by any means but Kahto would always inevitably win. So far every battle had been a mere show of power like a standard Pokémon battle with some twisted rules, people had been hurt but then so have trainers on their journeys. Though no-one treated it as such it was pretty much a game but then again, it's only a game until someone gets killed.

* * *

They were in the middle of a heated battle. Chuck was fighting Glacia atop the cliff, a poliwrath versus a glalie. Chuck wasn't fighting Glacia as he'd done with Drake, it was more like a traditional battle.

Fighting above the waves were Sidney and Chuck while Drake and Walker were battling in the skies. One of Glacia's stray attacks had blasted the water, leaving a large floating plain of ice to fight on.

Sparks flew and darkness erupted as Absol and Raichu clashed on the ice field. Absol dodged Raichu's focus blast with a grace that seemed odd when compared to its trainer who was determined this time not to get hit.

"Thunder wave!" Surge commanded but Absol's jewel and sickle shaped horn glowed with a psychic pink before the energy slashed through the electricity. Surge's eyes widened, no-one had sliced through thunder wave before.

Absol leapt into the air, swerving to avoid the focus blasts in mid-air. Surge and Raichu's anger were one with Raichu wanting to win as much as his trainer. Absol's agility was frustrating and every time focus blast hit empty air Raichu's rage went up a notch.

"Use night slash!" Sidney called and Absol jumped into the air again. This time its horn glowed with black energy.

There was little Surge or Raichu could do to avoid the attack. It came crashing down near their feet and the following impact sent them flying. Raichu was quick to recover and managed to twist mid-air so it could just bounce off the cliff but Surge was hurled against the rock-face.

Walker and Skarmory suddenly dropped, simultaneously dodging Drake's attack and swooping down to pick up Surge from the ocean. Skarmory soared upwards and set Surge down on top of the grassy cliff.

Walker was going to walk away and resume his fight with Drake but before he turned away he noticed something. He'd assumed Surge was unconscious, he wasn't moving, but now Surge's head was facing away from Walker he saw it. He saw the blood.

It stained Surge's blonde hair and a path of cuts ran down his back. Walked jumped off Skarmory and placed two fingers beneath Surge's jaw line, searching for a pulse...but all he found was cold silence.

He immediately retracted his hand, his mind finally processing the shock. So many emotions ran through his head, sadness, confusion, even fear, but all the situation allowed him express was rage. He hadn't been exactly friends with Surge but they'd met as gym leaders, fought alongside each other with Chuck and he had a lot of qualities that Walker looked up to in a person. Now he was dead. The sounds of battle in the background seemed small compared to the sound of his heart beating.

Walker glanced back to Sidney and his anger grew tenfold. Accident or not, his death was on _their_ hands.

He looked from Skarmory to Chuck, "Protect him." he ordered before running off the cliff and landing on Pidgeot while Skarmory stood protectively near Surge's body.

Chuck saw Walker and Surge out of the corner of his eye so he gritted his teeth and called a command to Poliwrath, now was not the time to be a gentleman.

Poliwrath blasted both Glalie and Glacia with a waterfall directed at the ground while Chuck ran over to Skarmory to see what had happened. All he saw was Skarmory and Surge. _Walker had probably asked Skarmory to guard him while he recovered_, Chuck thought but there was an ominous air surrounding them.

"Surge?" he asked. He kicked his friend gently in the shoulder, "Come on."

He looked at the grass surrounding him and realised in a sickening moment what was wrong with the scene. There was red among the green and Skarmory's head was bowed like a mourner.

Chuck couldn't believe it. L.t Surge was one of the best trainers and a good friend but he'd been the first to fall. He remembered some proverb his wife had told him, 'A candle that burns twice as bright burns half as long' but he'd never believed that. Surge was no candle. He was an inferno and he should have prevailed against anything but instead he'd just been cut down.

Tears had started to form in his eyes but his fists were clenched. His anger was almost uncontrollable.

"Poliwrath!" he called above the fierce winds with his uncontainable rage clear in his voice. All he wanted was their destruction, "Use waterfall!"

He threw out all his Pokémon and ordered them to attack the Hoenn trainers with barely a glance at them. He turned to face Cianwood and ran to get someone.

Sidney's eyes widened in shock as Walker, who he'd watching with mild curiosity in spite of himself, shot at him atop a pidgeot with eyes full of fury. Sidney was beginning to realise what he'd done and knew that there's no way he'd survive a direct confrontation while they were fuelled by such anger.

He returned Absol and threw out Sharpedo. He looked quickly back at an incoming Walker before jumping onto one of the fastest water Pokémon, hoping that it would be faster than a pidgeot. He couldn't believe what he'd done but at present his mind was distracted by his immediate problems.

Walker saw Sidney trying to leave and was well aware of Drake near enough to attack him but he didn't care. He would follow that trainer to the ends of that world if that's what it took to avenge Surge's death.

Pidgeot was speeding towards Sidney and his sharpedo and dodging Drake's futile attempts to stop him but then Chuck's voice rang out, surprisingly clear despite the sounds of fighting or the wind.

"Stop." Glacia, Drake and Sidney were fleeing but Walker suddenly halted. He looked back and saw hollow anger pervade Chuck's face which was even scarier than fury, "Those bastards will get their fitting end but we have to respect Surge's memory."

The anger that filled every end of Walker's body seemed to drain out of him. It did not disappear but it soon stopped pushing him forward. He'd stopped in despair, hovering on the back of his Pokémon.

Some people from Cianwood had gathered to take care of Surge while Chuck and Walker lingered. All of the ones to fall no-one would have guessed the lightning soldier* would be the first. The people of Vermillion City were furious. They held a hatred for Hoenn that surpassed those of Cianwood and refused to remain inactive in the conflict. It wasn't about the defence of Cianwood to them. It was the battle with Hoenn they wanted to win.

Even though the stakes had grown tenfold there was no end in sight. The line of no return had been shattered so Hoenn had no choice to stop attacking or they'd be accused of surrender. With such anger in Kahto defences had to be set up. It was no longer a fight between the leagues, the people were involved now and there was no doubt that the conflict was now war.

* * *

***I changed Surge's title from 'The lightning american' to 'the lightning soldier' because I didn't really want to have to think of some reason for America to exist in the Pokémon world.**

* * *

**R.I.P. Lieutenant Surge - The Lightning Soldier**

**_If it wasn't before it was a war now. Things are now getting into full swing now the people are involved. The first death was sad to write (_**_:(**) but it mustn't have been a surprise considering this is a prequel.**_

**I'm sorry for such a short chapter but these chapters are based on events not really word count.**

**I hope you enjoyed this chapter and please review with any comments, questions or suggestions for the series so I can improve it! :D**


	8. Chapter 8

Karen clamped her hand over her mouth but had failed to stifle the scream that had slipped past her fingers and her lips. She was aware of her surroundings from the tall walls of stone that surrounded her to the steady dripping of water onto the cave floor. She was alone.

"Dark4?" chimed in concerned voices.

Karen was silent, listening intently to what they were saying but all for the worse. They only reaffirmed her dread.

"What is it Dark4?" Koga demanded.

Karen wanted to speak but her voice was choking on disbelief and refused to steady itself, "S-Surge is…dead."

Shock rang out through the headsets, "W-what?" Koga's normally calm composure seemed to have slipped slightly.

Karen tried listening again and sighed solemnly, "It seems that he died by Sidney's hand."

"What!?" Misty's voice was filling with anger.

"What are they saying?" Janine asked.

"They say it wasn't intentional but they're not saying much more than that."

There was silence.

"Should we go back?" Misty asked unsurely, "To be there for him?"

There was another sad silence but Koga's voice broke it, "No. The people of Vermillion City will not let this go unpunished. The fighting will start again so our information will be needed now more than ever."

Karen nodded, "That's what they're saying. Glacia's talking about how they'll need reinforcements to fight those from Vermillion."

Janine paused in the middle of an agreeing nod, "Wait…How do they know that?"

* * *

Professor's Oak's eyes were looking down sadly throughout the conversation and Morty kept giving him pitying looks.

"I'm sorry Samuel but I don't think I could leave Ecruteak with things as they are now."

Oak nodded, "I know that Morty and I don't hold it against you. I'm just worried about what will happen now."

Morty nodded knowingly, "Now Hoenn has truly angered Kahto there will be no break in this war. It will have to continue." Oak ran a nervous hand through his greying hair and Morty sighed, "How has Professor Birch been?"

Oak's eyes widened quickly before remembering that Morty was neutral and wouldn't judge him for wanting the war to end with no victor, "He was troubled because of his warning but we both agreed that only by collaborating can we end this. He also gave his condolences."

"Does he have any strategies for negotiations?" Morty wondered but Oak shook his head.

"Not so far, but I did tell him about Vermillion joining the conflict."

Morty frowned, "You're giving him information about Kahto? Wouldn't that just provoke more battles?"

Oak furrowed his eyebrows, "I believe it was the best option, to avoid Hoenn's trainers from being slaughtered the next time they attack."

"I can see that but you must understand that sharing information about each side's tactics will only grow suspicion. Lance already has his misgivings about your pacifism."

Oak looked away, his voice full of sadness, "I know. But if our efforts can save lives then I'd gladly surrender my stance in the league to do so."

Morty smiled softly, "That's very admirable Samuel." there was a small noise off-screen and Morty turned to it. He nodded before turning back to Oak, "I've got to go now. I hope to talk to you again but...please be careful."

Oak nodded but didn't say anything as he turned off his screen and was left in silence in his empty lab. If not for Blue he and Daisy would be able to fight Lance and Steven's lack of diplomacy or go somewhere else to escape the fighting.

* * *

The people of Vermillion City had been struck a harsh blow with the loss of their gym leader. Tears were shed but the rage was overwhelming. Now it wasn't just Cianwood that needed defending. A thunderstorm more powerful than anything natural crossed the ocean and was only fought away by the power of Roxanne and the elite four.

Now civilians were involved everything had changed. People were fighting and people were dying while the situation was becoming more desperate.

For months things much harder for Koga's team, not that they could blame anyone since no-one except for Lance knew of their mission, but the storms and added defences made espionage much more difficult.

Koga and Misty were taking their turn to sleep so it was just Karen and Janine working. Janine was stalking Steven, hoping for some battle plans to be spilled, but so she'd overheard nothing new. They must have been somewhat paranoid about spies since Steven's speech always seemed so guarded but the more Janine followed the champion around the more she pitied him. She understood that he didn't want this but had to keep going.

Finally Steven ran into an elite so Janine perked up, hoping to get some information on their plans. It was Glacia.

"Steven." she said angrily, "Why have you been avoiding us?" Glacia demanded.

Steven's eyes were tired but they flashed with anger, "I haven't been avoiding you. I ordered you to prepare for the attack tonight."

Janine silently followed them as they began walking down the corridor, "It's about that." Glacia was saying, "What's the point of attacking at midnight when our people are tired and no single attack would end this battle?"

Steven looked her in the eyes and raised an eyebrow, "I thought you would already know the answer. Though one attack won't win us the war, capturing Cianwood would definitely help."

Glacia folded her arms, "You honestly believe that we could capture the city?"

Steven sighed, "If you say that then do you believe we could win the war?"

Glacia's eyes widened before narrowing, "I'll go and sort out the forces." she turned her back on Steven and walked away, straight to where Janine was. A moment of panic flashed through Janine but was quickly submerged by a trained calm. She darted down the corridor, at first just for evasion but then she started processing what she'd just heard. She had to tell Karen.

Janine glanced around the corridor and saw no-one but she knew for a fact that long conversations couldn't go on for too long when she was so deep in enemy territory. She ran noiselessly through the building until she reached one of the windows that she and her father found reached the roof. The winds kept battering her from all directions so she had to raise her voice beyond safe levels for Karen to hear her.

"Dark4?" she called.

"Yeah?" Karen answered sleepily.

"This is no time to be sleeping!" Janine chastised but Karen tutted.

"It's ten and I'm not nocturnal. If I don't sleep now then when?"

Janine couldn't believe her. She and Will sure were...unique, "There's going to be a massive attack on Cianwood at midnight. You've got to tell Lance!"

Karen's drowsy eyes widened, "Sure." Karen looked wistfully to Misty who was sleeping peacefully in her sleeping bag, "I'll go." she stood up and threw out Honchkrow. She placed a finger to her lip and it nodded. Karen grinned at it and they started the walk to the outside.

It was already dark so Honchkrow was hard to make out from all the other silhouettes but Karen had spent plenty of nights training with him so she was soon flying towards the ocean.

"Hello?" she kept calling for him, testing the connection every few minutes, until there was an answer.

"Who is it?" Lance asked.

"Do we use codenames?" Karen asked.

"Our transmissions can still be intercepted, so yes."

"Then it's Dark4. There's going to be a large attack on Cianwood at midnight. Get whoever you can there so they'll be ready for it." Karen instructed.

"Do you have any more information on the attack?" Lance asked but Karen said no, she was only repeating what Janine had told her, "Then return to Hoenn, but be careful. They're more alert than ever."

Karen rolled her. He'd given them the same warning every time for months, "Good luck." she gave the word to Honchkrow and they began flying back to the Hoenn league.

* * *

It was midnight but Chuck and several of his friends were wide awake and ready to go. Lance and Clair were there to warn him of an attack but by then there was no point in leaving.

"How'd you even know?" Chuck asked Lance as he and Clair threw out their dragonites, "You've been keeping us informed of the Hoenn attacks for a while now. Has Morty finally come around?"

Lance shook his head, "No." he hesitated for the slightest second before elaborating, "We have Koga, Janine, Karen and Misty in Hoenn."

Clair's eyes widened, "_That's_ where they've been? Why didn't you tell me sooner?"

Lance shrugged, "It's highly classified. It's not that I don't trust you but you never asked before." Chuck and Clair didn't seem satisfied with that answer but didn't really have reason to demand a better answer, or the time.

"In the distance!" someone aboard the birds shouted out and then everyone started getting into formation, preparing for battle.

* * *

The battle had been a massive success on Kahto's side. Thanks to Janine and Karen they'd been prepared and had faced Glacia, Drake, Wallace and the other Hoenn trainers bravely.

Drake was clutching his leg in the Hoenn league's infirmary while a nurse tended to it but she was trying to stay out of the way as he yelled at Steven.

"They must have known!" Drake growled, "So either Morty's back on their side or we've got a traitor on our hands."

"I trust every single person who's fought for us. There is no traitor and as for Morty I know that he's still neutral."

"But how do you explain them predicting we'd attack at the dead of night? It's impossible."

Steven looked to the door, "Roxanne." he called and she entered.

"Yes?"

"Has your searches found anyone?" Steven asked her.

Roxanne crossed her arms and thought intently with a bitter look on her face as if the facts left a bad taste in her mouth, "My team has searched the ground and scanned the surveillance tapes but we've found _nothing_. We have to be dealing with a traitor, unless Birch..."

Drake held up his hand to stop her, "He can find out our general position but he had no idea that there'd be an attack tonight." he threw up his hands in frustration, "How are they doing this!?"

Roxanne's eyes lit up as an idea came to her, "I'll be out for a moment. I need to check somewhere." she quickly walked out, leaving Steven and Drake confused, but then the nurse kindly asked Steven to leave as she looked after Drake's leg.

* * *

Misty carefully walked through the caves, keeping aware of wild Pokémon and people. She kept her headset on but no-one else was talking so she didn't either. As tense as staying in Victory Road had been she'd actually enjoyed some parts. Koga may be a bit strict but he was wise and Karen and Janine were wonderful people.

She had Starmie by her side and was enjoying the chance to stretch her legs for a while. She had a torch* but it barely pierced the darkness of the cave. She was making a conscious effort to keep her footsteps quiet but there wasn't enough sound in the cave to soften the clapping of her sandals on the stone.

It seemed like she'd been wearing the headsets 24/7 since she'd arrived in Hoenn. She took it off to flatten down her hair which had bunched up weirdly from the constant wearing. Misty looked over to Starmie and grinned.

Its gem flashed red in communication but Misty'd never been a genius when it came to understanding Pokémon. She often envied Sabrina for the bond she had with her Pokémon because it was something unattainable for someone like her but every time she thought that she'd look to Starmie and realise that language was only a small hurdle.

Misty screamed. Her arm went to her other arm but the impact and shock had already sent her to the floor. Her right arm was becoming soaked in blood but her thoughts went to Starmie.

"Starmie!" she cried out but the only answer she got was full of malice.

"Spy." Roxanne called accusingly, her probopass looking equally enraged. Misty tried to look to her but her vision was already starting to fade to black.

* * *

Drake walked towards Steven with his leg in a fresh cast and being supported by crutches but someone was yelling something down the corridor.

Drake turned to the source and Steven ran out of the room. Roxanne's probopass was holding someone with thunder wave and Roxanne was running towards the two.

"There is no traitor." her voice was sharp and full of anger. Probopass released Misty and she collapsed to the floor, crackling with electricity and her arm drenched in blood.

"Misty..." Steven breathed. He met Roxanne's eyes with incredulousness filling his, "What...?"

Roxanne glared at the unconscious Misty. Roxanne's teeth were gritted, "I can't believe it never occurred to me." she muttered, "Kahto had spies. I found her in Victory Road." Roxanne explained.

Steven's eyes widened even more but then they closed in thought, "Koga and Janine." he realised bitterly, "They're here." Steven couldn't believe that Lance had tried something like that but more so how he'd missed it. He guessed that they'd been hiding since the early days of the conflict yet there'd been no sign of them. He threw out Metagross and looked to Roxanne, "Search Victory Road and the entire building. We won't let them have the chance to escape."

Drake threw out his Salamence, "I'll watch over her. We can't let her go either." Steven and Roxanne nodded before sprinting off in opposite directions.

* * *

Koga winced as a large burst of static erupted in the headsets and gave all three of the Kahto trainers splitting headaches.

"What was that?" Karen cried.

"Dark4? PoisonG? WaterG?" Koga called.

"I'm fine." assured Janine.

"Me too, if you don't include the headache." Karen added.

They waited but Misty wasn't replying, "WaterG?" Janine called worriedly but Misty's headgear was now broken and in Roxanne's hand.

Karen's eyes wandered to her laptop and she screamed at the sight of Misty being so injured, "They've got Misty!" she cried.

"What!? Where? How?" Koga demanded.

"Drake's guarding her and she's in the corridor connected to the infirmary." Karen paused to take a moment to scan the screen again, "Steven and Roxanne are searching the grounds for us. What should we do?"

Koga was silent. He was considering the options but none of them were good. He knew Lance would find the loss of their information a fatal blow it but he also knew the champion would deplore leaving Misty behind, "We need to get Misty and ourselves out of here." it was like the absence of codenames sealed it. They weren't going back after this.

Koga sighed deeply before leaping onto the floor. He made no sound but was making no attempt to hide anymore. He threw out Crobat and Muk.

"Follow me." he ordered and he sprinted down the corridor to where Karen had said Drake and Misty was.

Janine called out Venomoth and Ariados. As much as she'd loathe admitting it she was prickling with fear. Steven would be such a formidable trainer to face. Not only was he a champion he also had a metagross which was a poison specialist's worst nightmare. She shook the thoughts out of her head. Misty was the priority now. She started sprinting with Ariados and Venomoth close behind her.

"I can't believe it." Steven growled. Janine cursed her luck but didn't stop running.

"Bug buzz! Electroweb!" Janine cried and though she heard commotion behind her she didn't dare look around.

"Bullet punch!" Steven commanded and Janine leapt up onto the ceiling to avoid Metagross who was barrelling down the corridor. She landed on top of the Pokémon and finally met Steven's eyes. They were full of anger and cold steel which terrified her. She'd been watching him for months now but hadn't ever seen him beforehand so she wasn't really aware of what he was like as a trainer. All she knew is that he wasn't the champion of Hoenn for no reason.

"Extrasensory!" Steven threw another pokéball and out came Claydol, already attacking.

Janine rapidly returned both Ariados and Venomoth, throwing out Crobat in their place, "Tailwind!" she called.

Steven raised his arms to cover his face from the sudden winds. He managed to stay on his feet but Claydol was hurled backwards.

Janine jumped off Metagross, using the force to push it behind the tailwind. "Come on!" she yelled and she and Crobat darted off again.

They came across Drake and his Salamence in another corridor but Koga was already there. Drake was on the floor, his face hot and purple from the side effects of toxic.

Salamence used zen headbutt on its own but Janine was there to stop it with toxic. It fell to the floor and Koga was pulling Misty over his shoulder.

"Steven's on his way. Tailwind can only distract him for so long." Janine warned.

"Get her outside!" Karen ordered through the headsets. Janine and Koga looked around for a quick exit and Koga's eyes fell onto the meeting room door where there was a large window.

"Oh no." she breathed but she and Crobat burst into the room and shattered the window with heat wave nonetheless.

Koga, Janine and Misty dived out of the window, supported by Venomoth and the crobats without a care if anyone was in that room.

Karen heard the sound of smashing glass and looked up at the poison type trainers flying off with Koga carrying Misty. She took off, being carried by Honchkrow with the laptop under her arm, and went to join them.

* * *

***By which I mean Flashlight**

* * *

**I am soooooo sorry for the delay. I don't know why but this chapter was hard to write but I hope you enjoyed something finally happening.**

**Hope you enjoyed the chapter and please comment with any questions, comments or suggestions for the series so I can improve :D**


	9. Chapter 9

Though Koga was muttering swears under his breath his face was full of concern for his injured colleague. Misty had almost woken up on the flight but the exertion of walking to the infirmary, even when Karen and Koga were doing most of the work, had knocked her out again. Koga had sent Janine ahead to get Lance but was dreading the moment when he had to admit they'd been caught. Lance would understand why they left but everyone would be upset about the loss of such crucial information.

The people in the infirmary literally screamed at the sight of Misty but rushed to help her regardless. Koga and Karen walked out to face a very shocked looking Lance with Janine waiting behind him.

"How are you back?" the champion questioned with no anger in his voice, just surprise.

"Misty was shot and captured. We had no choice but to reveal ourselves and rescue her." Karen explained.

Lance's eyes darted to the infirmary doors but Karen held out her hands in a reassuring gesture, "She's fine. The injury's definitely not fatal but we can't go back now."

Lance sighed in relief and ran a hand through his hair, "Is Steven wasn't angry before..." he mumbled to himself. He met Karen and Koga's eyes in turn, "It is regrettable that we don't have insider information anymore but I'm glad Misty's going to be okay."

Karen looked at the champion with a confused expression but didn't say anything about it. Questioning his leniency wouldn't end better for them, "Does that mean we're back to fighting?"

Lance nodded, "We'll need all the help we can get. We need to be prepared from anything now their attacks will keep being surprises." Karen and Koga nodded before walking off and Janine soon joined them.

* * *

Roxanne returned from her search of Victory Road fuming, "You let them get away!?" she cried incredulously.

Drake was stiffly getting to his feet, only managing to do so with the help of his crutches, but his face was still hot and stuffy from the poisoning, "Give me a break. It was two against one and if you haven't noticed, I was fighting with a broken leg so cut me some slack!"

Roxanne crossed her arms but didn't speak any further. She and Drake were silently waiting for Steven but then yelped as a sudden explosion shook the walls.

Metagross had hit the wall, it had used giga impact to burst through the tailwind, and Steven emerged with a very windswept look. He looked from Drake to Roxanne then clenched his fists in frustration, "They escaped, didn't they?" Drake and Roxanne didn't answer but their looks were enough. Steven unclenched his fists and breathed deeply, "I don't blame you, but I need to know. Who was it? They sent Misty and Janine..."

"And Koga." Drake supplied.

"And Karen." said Roxanne, "I found their base and from that I've estimated that they've been here since after the first battle between Clair, Lance, Karen, Drake, Sidney and Norman. I found some data in Misty's headset that dated back to soon after then."

Steven's eyes widened, "That long?"

Roxanne folded her arms as she thought, "Who knows what they've found out. The data on Misty's headset only told me the amount of activity on which date, nothing specific like sound files." her eyes widened as a thought occurred to her, "What if they know about _that_?" she asked cryptically. On a regular day Drake would have asked what she meant but his mind was foggy from the poison's side effects.

He raised a hand to his temple and winced in pain, "I'm going home. I'll be no use like this." he said groggily before stumbling off.

Roxanne watched him walk off then her head darted back to meet Steven's eyes, "If they've found out about our plans then they may make a pre-emptive attack." she warned.

"What plans?" Steven asked, warning anger covered by a calm mask, "I hope you remember that I forbid you from raising Groudon or Kyogre. They're too dangerous and need I mention that some of our own people are in Kahto?"

_What a fool_. Roxanne thought like a mutter, _They _do_ know and they _will_ strike us first if the war becomes too much of a chore for them_. But on the outside she nodded agreeably and turned to exit the building. She needed to find Flannery.

Once she was outside she took out her pokénav. Roxanne looked around cautiously before contacting the fire type specialist. From what she knew already Flannery should be camping out on one of the Seafoam Islands so long as she wasn't in mid-attack. Luckily the pokénav had a much larger range than the pokégears; Hoenn _was_ a larger region after all.

"Flannery?" Roxanne asked.

"Roxanne? Why...?" Flannery answered drowsily but Roxanne didn't have to time to let her finish. The fate of Hoenn was at stake.

"I need you to do something for me, but keep it confidential. Steven would never understand. The coward." she added inaudibly.

"SURE!" Flannery's reaction was so loud that Roxanne had to move away from the device.

"Quiet!" Roxanne hissed. She cleared her throat, "Here's what I need to do..."

* * *

He thought it would have been impossible, considering the circumstances, but Morty finally felt like he was starting to relax. Ecruteak had become a bubble of safe among the war but even though a lot of the people from Hoenn felt on edge he hoped that they were beginning to heal and calm down.

The loss of Surge had shaken everyone in Kahto and Morty deeply regretted not attending his funeral but he knew the other league members well enough to name many who'd accuse him of cowardice. But for now the only seeds of worry in his mind were about Samuel. It was too dangerous talking and sharing information with Birch and someone as intelligent as a professor should be aware of that.

Someone knocked on the gym's door, the sound echoed almost impossibly well across the fog ridden gym.

"Yes?" Morty's voice rang out with the same clarity and a kimono girl entered the gym. Morty strolled over to her and found it was Zuki, "Is everything okay?" he asked cautiously.

Zuki nodded quickly but then halted and shook her head, "Well, we were just wondering when you were planning on coming to our next performance."

The growing ball of worry growing in Morty's heart quickly melted; maybe he wasn't as calm as he thought he was. He chuckled, "Don't worry. I've just been a bit occupied. I'd love to come next time."

Zuki grinned and rapidly reached for Morty's wrist. It happened so fast that Morty didn't even have time to resist as the kimono girl dragged him out of the gym and outside to the Kimono Dance Theatre. The shock on his face soon transformed into a smile, she ran surprisingly fast for someone wearing sandals like hers.

The doors burst open and Morty was shoved playfully into the theatre where, to Morty's surprise, there was nearly everyone in Ecruteak standing or sitting in the building. Zuki must have been really enthusiastic about the next performance. He shrugged happily and leant against a wall, watching the stage with anticipation as the lights flicked on one by one.

Slowly and gracefully the kimono girls danced onto the stage and Morty let himself become immersed in the music and the dancing. A peaceful smile formed on his face and Morty realised what the girls were up to. Neutral or not, Ecruteak was still in the middle of a war so everyone needed something to cheer them up.

The dancing was beautiful and elegant and seemed to go on a blissful number of hours despite it probably not being so. The show was beginning to end but suddenly a sudden pain struck Morty's head, like someone had thrown a dart at his temple. He brought his hands to his head and closed his eyes as he winced but he didn't see the darkness you'd usually see when you close your eyes.

He saw fire raining down from the sky. It was horrific but he urged himself to concentrate. Visions only lasted so long and he needed to see where they'd strike. The image darkened and faded but not before he saw an iconic tower's destruction.

An old friend of Morty, Jeffrey, was standing nearby the gym leader. Even though he was happily watching the dancing he saw small commotion out of the corner of his eye. He turned and saw Morty clutching his head in an all too familiar way. He placed a concerned hand on Morty's shoulder but then he quickly straightened.

"Mor..."

"Everyone get out of here!" Morty commanded, his voice shocking the crowd and stirring them into a panic.

Jeffrey reacted immediately. He turned and threw open the doors while the people funnelled outside and Morty kept yelling warnings.

Kuni ran up to Morty while her sisters lead the final people outside, "Morty, what did you see?" she asked fearfully.

"I'll tell you later." he excused shortly before running with the others. Kuni and Jeffrey noticed Morty kept glancing up at the dark sky as they ran.

"Everyone!" Morty's kept his voice calm as he addressed the city, "I need you all to go south immediately. If you know anyone who didn't come tonight, get them."

The citizens obeyed immediately. Most scattered towards route 37 but a few people ran to their houses to fetch others. On arrival in Ecruteak Morty had made it clear never to go back for possessions so he trusted the people were going for the others.

He breathed deeply and looked at the tall brick wall that surrounded Ecruteak City. It was one way at the moment so the people could escape but even though projectiles shouldn't penetrate the shields he knew that his visions were never wrong.

Morty called out Gengar, Mismagius and Froslass while looking back to the people every so often to remind them to run. No-one knew what Morty was waiting for but feared because he didn't have the time to explain.

Only Kuni and Jeffrey stayed by his side, they'd called out Vaporeon and Gengar in apprehension, sensing the danger.

"Can you explain now?" Kuni asked nervously.

Morty's eyes were fixed on the sky above the Bell Tower but he nodded distractedly, "I foresaw an attack on Ecruteak. I only saw it strike the Bell Tower but I don't want to risk the lives of the citizens."

Jeffrey nodded, "So you're going to hit anything you see out of the sky?"

"That's the…" Morty started but by then a small light in the sky that was hidden among the stars started to grow larger, "Power gem! Ice beam! Focus blast!" he called, interrupting himself.

Jeffrey and Kuni joined in with shadow ball and water gun but were soon too scared to move. The fireballs were terrifying and though there were few they looked devastating.

Morty glanced to Jeffrey and Kuni besides him, "Go. I'll see what I can do."

Kuni's eyes widened, "What? No." she said firmly.

Jeffrey copied her look of determination, "We're not going to leave our home."

Morty looked regretfully to Misgmagius and then to his friends, "Sorry. Use teleport." Mismagius glowed and disappeared in a flash, taking Jeffrey and Kuni with her, before they could resist.

The ground shook as the first projectile hit the invisible shields. Morty gritted his teeth and ordered another barrage of attacks from his two Pokémon. They knocked several out of the sky but it was two attacks against tens of fireballs. Morty felt the shield begin to falter and his mind began racing, trying to ease his confusion. It made no sense for either side to fire at Ecruteak as far as he knew.

The sky flashed white, momentarily blinding Morty. As his eyes quickly adjusted he saw something horrible. The shield was gone.

The fire rained down freely on the Bell Tower and Morty cried out. He yelled for Gengar and Froslass to continue knocking away the projectiles and was about to run to Bell Tower when he suddenly lost the ability to move. He heard a gentle pulsing and saw psychic light before falling to the ground. The last thing he saw was a sad looking Gengar shaking its ghostly head.

* * *

Morty woke up shortly after. Gengar and Froslass were nearby as he shot to his feet. He looked around in momentary panic before realising that only one thing had been destroyed. Around its base was a ring of craters and blackened grass but the real tragedy was the smoking remnants of Bell Tower. It, like its twin, had burnt to the ground.

No-one could come back to Ecruteak until Morty gave the word, he created the one-way wall after all, so he rushed to Route 37 to check if the people were okay.

They were waiting patiently but with a terrified air around them. No-one knew what had happened yet and all they knew was that they couldn't enter the city. There was a collective sigh of relief as Morty came out but they all could see his sadness and confusion.

"The city is safe. No houses were destroyed." he said assuring.

"Then why would they have attacked?" asked Martha, an old woman who was shaking with a mix of fear and cold.

Morty glanced back before addressing the crowd again, "They burnt down the Bell Tower." he continued before the worry could rise, "I want you all to go back to your houses and…" he sighed, "I want you to pack your things. I'm afraid there's been some sort of target placed on Ecruteak City."

The crowd erupted in questions but Morty raised his hands to silence them, "I made a promise that no harm would come to you and I'm going to keep that promise. All I ask is that you co-operate with me."

There was still a mingling fear but Morty's words had the power to calm them down. He used his ghost-types to make the wall passable and then started to help his citizens pack up while he made some calls.

Morty was helping an injured Hoenn woman with some of her bags when his pokégear started buzzing. He rested the bags down and flipped open the device.

"Who is this?" Morty asked politely, trying to mask his tiredness and anxiety.

"Thank goodness." breathed Oak, "Professor Elm saw fire over Ecruteak City and you haven't been answering calls. No-one knows what happened."

Morty ran a hand through his blonde hair, "Really, neither do I. At about eleven there was an attack solely on the Bell Tower. No-one was hurt but everyone's a bit shaken up."

"Well that's a relief. I'm glad that everyone's well."

"Well may not be the word. Why would someone just attack the Bell Tower? Symmetry?" Morty joked despite not being in the mood.

"Hmm...What was the attack like? Maybe from that we can figure out who was the attacker."

Morty thought back, "It was fire and it rained down from the sky."

Oak's eyes widened, "That sounds like Flannery. It was a Hoenn attack." he concluded.

"What!?" Morty couldn't believe it, "Why would they attack their own people?"

"But they didn't. Only the Bell Tower was destroyed so that must have been their objective. I'll ask Birch about it but for now, what are your plans?"

"We're going to Cherrygrove City. It's the same size and I have friends there."

"You're moving them all?" Oak asked incredulously.

The bags in the woman's hands fell to the ground with a large crash and Morty rushed to help her, "Sorry. Can you look it up?" Morty finished quickly before snapping the device shut and picking the bags up.

The concern on Oak's face had only grown during his conversation with the Ecruteak gym leader. Out of the cities to be attacked Ecruteak should have been the last on _anyone's_ list. Morty was looking after Hoenn refugees and was neutral in the war, why attack him?

Oak leant back in his chair and pondered the matter. He brought his pokégear up his ear and pressed the 'group call' button, trying to contact as many people who'd be curious as possible since Morty had enough on his hands.

He managed to get to Whitney and Jasmine and tell them not to worry about Ecurteak. They were both relieved that no-one was hurt but they were confused to find out it was a Hoenn attack. Jasmine didn't seem to believe they'd do a thing like that but Whitney was like Morty, wondering why.

Whitney wanted to continue discussing motives with the other two but realised that she couldn't talk to two uninvolved people for long without getting them all into trouble so she hung up.

"Are you sure it was Flannery?" Jasmine asked, "It being fire could relate it to Blai..." she stopped herself, not feeling right accusing someone, "...to anyone else."

Oak frowned, "I want to believe it wasn't here but the descriptions match up exactly with what Brock, Sabrina and Pryce have been going through."

"But she wouldn't attack people from Hoenn. She may act a bit...loud...but she's a really sweet person." Jasmine protested, "And what motivation would she have for bombing Bell Tower?" she sighed sadly, "I'll just have to talk to Steven about it."

"You've contacted him?"

Jasmine nodded, "I'm not related to the war so why not? We both want to end the war as quickly, and as peacefully, as possible."

Oak nodded happily, "That's great. Can you try to figure this out? I don't want any more burdens for Morty to bear."

Jasmine said good-bye to the professor and gazed sadly in the general direction of Ecruteak City. _Morty must be having such a hard time_, she thought pityingly.

She immediately turned on the small screen and only had to wait a small while before Steven's image appeared. He seemed shocked to see her but not unpleasantly so. His face was mingled with anger which was unusual for him so it seemed like there was something on both of their minds.

"Is there something wrong?" she asked.

Steven looked like he was considering denying it but then nodded admitting, "Something...troubling happened." he said vaguely.

"What happened?" she ventured.

Steven hesitated while he searched for a tactful way to describe what Lance did but then had to settle on the truth, "Lance sent Misty, Koga, Janine and Karen into Hoenn as spies."

Jasmine gasped, "They did that?" _So many people were doing such untactful things lately_, Jasmine thought with a shuddered, then a thought occurred to her, "What happened to them?" she asked carefully. She didn't want Steven to think she was accusing him of anything.

"They returned back to Kahto." Steven studied Jasmine's face, concerned, "But you always have a reason for calling me. What's happened in Johto?"

Jasmine looked down sadly, "Someone attacked Ecruteak and Morty thinks it was Flannery."

The shock of Steven's face was immediate, "Are they injured?"

Jasmine raised her hands reassuringly, "They're all fine. I just know it wasn't Flannery so I came to see if you had any ideas."

Steven was shaking his head when he suddenly halted. He didn't want to worry Jasmine so he bid her a short farewell before ending the call and calling for Roxanne.

* * *

**So that's how Morty ended up in Cherrygrove and how I always described _two_ burnt towers in Ecruteak. I promise it wasn't just me misremembering what Ecruteak looked like. *Suspicious eye flicker***

**I liked this chapter, it was much easier to write than the others because it was more focused but I hope _you_ liked it and please review with any comments, questions or suggestions for the series so it can be the best it can be! :D**


	10. Chapter 10

Sabrina was on lookout, trying to stay alert while her eyes seemed to want nothing more than to close. She'd been maintaining the barrier for over eight months and had seen no activity except for the routine attacks which never made it past the shields.

The sky was dark and cloudy so there were no stars to gaze at. All she could do was think and for someone with her powers that was very dangerous. The air around her seemed charged with her boredom and anticipation but after the long months of dull waiting she'd learnt how to quell the anticipation.

She found it hard to believe that they Lance had put someone as talented as her behind the lines. Sabrina appreciated that she was the best with defensive shields but did she _have_ to be there 24/7?

She sighed aloud. _At least my days weren't completely fruitless_... she thought with rare optimism. Pryce was a very wise a talented trainer. She'd actually learnt a lot from the elderly trainer.

Sabrina quickly closed her eyes and automatically braced herself for the impact. The lights indicating Flannery's attacks had appeared in the sky and it wasn't long before they started impacting on the pale pink force field.

Some days she blew them out of the sky, other days she felt no need. It was a choice between a shield at full force and waiting for them to hit or the shield being half as strong with less strikes against it. It was one of the latter days for Sabrina.

Sabrina watched the fire rain down and realised too late how drained she was feeling. She'd originally ignored it but with each hit she felt as if it was _her_ being attacked. She got to her feet and began acknowledging the growing sense of dread building inside her. The shields had lasted so long but was their time running out?

She glanced back to the building and her finger hovered over the emergency alarm that Brock had set up. Pressing it would start a series of alarms that would wake everyone up and tell them to evacuate. If it was a false alarm she'd never hear the end of it.

That was enough to convince her. _Her dread was just a result of her sleep deprivation_, she reasoned to herself. She warily watched the fire fall down as steadily and plentiful as raindrops. One flaming boulder shot down and smashed into the shield. It was one of dozens but it had a weighty significance to it. The area where it crashed into flashed white and Sabrina watched as the white flashed kept webbing across the sky until the pink tinge began fading entirely.

She paused for a long second, paralysed in shock, but then everything unpaused explosively. Sabrina practically smashed the emergency button and the blaring alarms began their panic-inducing droning.

Brock shot up. He considered himself a heavy sleeper but it was surprisingly easy for him to get up when he knew his life, and more importantly the lives of the others, were in danger.

He started calling for everyone to get out of the building and distantly heard Pryce doing the same. He was sprinting, hurrying other people along as he did so, when the ceiling shuddered. Cracks webbed the walls and Brock threw out his onix just in time for the rubble to start falling. A large square fell onto Onix who managed to stay strong and prevent it from falling on anyone but now the panic had doubled. _Sabrina_, the word shook him deeply. _If the shields had faded then what had happened to her_? Brock started running with renewed desire but he still stopped to help anyone who was stuck along the way so he was one of the last out of the building. A fireball exploded at his feet and Brock, along with a few others, was sent flying into quick unconsciousness.

He woke up with the world spinning and his ears ringing but he forced himself to stumble to his feet. People were in danger. He had to help. Brock looked around but all his jumbled mind could make out was fire.

A dark shape was approaching him and despite his best efforts Brock's brain couldn't comprehend what his eyes were trying to tell him. He felt the shape touch both of his temples and after a sharp disconnection to his senses they all came back into focus.

Sabrina was glaring at him, "Move." she ordered forcefully and they both went to work. They ran around helping people escape while fire rained down in powerful blasts. Several hit the plateau building but none were penetrating.

Lance and the elite were in Cianwood City so the number of people to worry about was less than it could have been but the terror was overwhelming for Brock and, though she would never admit it, for Sabrina as well. People were streaming away from the building while Pokémon tried desperately to protect the crowd or start up the shields again.

Sabrina was only a few metres away from Brock but she still had to shout, "Where's Pryce!"

"I think he's helping some people inside!" Brock continued to shoot rocks at the incoming projectiles with Onix when his head snapped back to the building, "His wheelchair!" Brock exclaimed and Sabrina's eyes widened at her foolishness, Pryce being as competent as he was made it easy to forget his age.

She and Brock turned to face the entrance and were about to run into the building when a large ball of fire fell down from the sky. Everything was bathed in the flickering bright red light giving the effect of Brock being in the middle of hell. Time and the air around him had become as thick as custard, choking him and restraining his movements. The flaming ground was dry and hard but it might as well have been quicksand to the rock-type trainer. Everything he did felt hopelessly futile but he saw it all. He was staring into the dark hallway that led onto the plateau's entrance when his vision became nothing but flames then back to darkness.

Distorted screaming was all Sabrina heard between the consistent ringing in her ears and even in her mind. She didn't hear her Pokémon's thoughts but couldn't move. The paralysis she experienced filled her with a fear she hadn't felt since she was a small uncontrollable child destroying everything she ever cared about. But this time the destruction was on another's hands.

Sabrina longed to open her eyes and just _know_ what in the world was going on but she was incapable to do even that. The shock had consumed everything except the parts of her mind that allowed basic thought.

_Alakazam_, she thought intensely. _If you can hear me, respond_! she thought more forcibly.

_I...am...alive_, thought back Alakazam like a mental croak. Alakazam was injured but, like his trainer, was incapable of moving from the impact.

An idea occurred to Sabrina. Her physical power had diminished but not her mental. She gathered the remnants of her psychic energy and used it to control her very body like a puppet. Once she was moving again the paralysis started to fade.

Her eyes burst open but almost immediately closed again from the pain of what she saw. Fire was everywhere but the devastation was the worst. Uninjured people were swarming the hurt but no-one could wrench their eyes away from the ruins. The utterly razed Indigo Plateau.

Sabrina got to her feet and people began noticing her. She looked to Brock who was collapsed close by. She mustered up her strength to appear as steady as she could in front of all the people. She stiffly walked over to Brock and kicked him in an attempt to wake him up.

Brock's first act once he started stirring was to bring his eyes up to his ears. She'd focused him before but she didn't have the power to bend a spoon at that point.

"Stand up!" Sabrina commanded and she kicked the other gym leader again. He further began curling into a ball of pain until he finally became aware.

He shot into a more dignified position and managed to meet Sabrina's eyes despite his rolling uncontrollably.

Brock saw the sadness and fury and forced himself to look around. People were dealing with other collapsed trainers but were leaving the leaders up to their own devices. Brock turned his head and gasped in shock, the sharp breath hanging in the air for a very long time.

"...Pryce..." he whispered, horrified. There were others who hadn't escaped but Brock couldn't name them all. He struggled to his feet, tears flooding down his face in thick flurries, as the number of casualties got to him. "...Onix..." he breathed in the same despair ridden tone.

The roof had completely collapsed and fire and smoke rose in hellish clouds. No-one...Could have...Survived...That...

Brock was about to run and search for survivors when Sabrina held out her arm. She placed an index finger on her temple, "I don't sense any life." she explained. Her voice was emotionless, her indifferent mask already salvaged.

Sabrina grabbed his arm and they joined in with helping the injured.

* * *

Flannery's attacks had always been routine. By doing so she'd hoped to disconnect herself from it. _She wasn't _attacking_ them_, she'd told herself weakly, _It was just carrying out a task_...

Flannery and a few others from Lavaridge Town had been camping out on one of the Seafoam Islands as per Steven's instructions but the other day she'd received an unusual message from Roxanne. Even days later she couldn't believe what she'd done.

_She was such a pushover that she could even push over herself_, Flannery chuckled pitifully at the thought. It felt as if there was the confident her and the meek her but that was just Flannery kidding herself. She was weak no matter how she acted.

The array of fire type Pokémon lined up on the rocky hills, or flying above them, were preparing for another routine attack on the Indigo Plateau and she did nothing. She found herself envying Brawly for his courage to run away from the conflict but she knew that nearly everyone else would call it something else.

Sabrina's shields were impressive. For more than half a year they'd carried out this worthless game of throwing fire at their shields but secretly Flannery was glad that she didn't have to fight no matter what her other self boasted.

She found herself staring at the campfire. She loved fire for its beauty. She watched the flames flicker and rise like an unearthly ballet when all of a sudden someone placed their hand on her shoulder.

Flannery jumped slightly at the sudden contact then puffed out her chest boldly, "WHAT IS IT!?" she yelled before clamping her hand over her mouth then releasing it. She flickered almost as much as fire itself. She looked into the light green eyes of an ace trainer. His green hair hadn't been cut lately so his usual windswept look was becoming more unruly.

Zane smirked, "There's some good news about the plateau." Flannery's heart fell, anticipating the awful news, "The shields fell."

That word echoed in Flannery's mind, pounding in her head like a rubberised hammer. Without explanation she threw out her talonflame. She'd been traded it by a fire enthusiast from Kalos and loved it.

With a powerful flap of its wings it darted upwards to about Flannery's height. Flannery grabbed Talonflame's ankle then it wrapped Flannery's wrist in its talons before shooting off.

The night was thick and dark, meaning that Flannery was going to just trust Talonflame's judgement but it turned out that was unnecessary. The entire flat space atop the mountain was wreathed in flames and Flannery had to put her hand over her mouth to stop herself from screaming.

She'd done that. It no longer looked like the Indigo Plateau, it looked like hell, and she'd...done that. Tears were flooding Flannery's vision. She'd never wanted that. In Ecruteak she'd been _so_ careful not to hit any other buildings so no-one would be hurt but there was no doubt.

Flannery felt herself choke on her own tears. _I...don't want anyone else to get hurt_, she realised. The impact of that thought severely shaking her. She didn't want to hurt anyone. Her first thoughts were to go over and help, she had Talonflame and was unharmed, but then she remembered her position. She was the enemy in their eyes.

She glanced back at the Seafoam Islands and realised that they'd be going back to Hoenn soon. Their task was over so if she wanted to escape now was the only time.

Flannery didn't try to dry her tears. She didn't deserve the dignity to retain. She looked up to Talonflame and croaked a command. She and Talonflame shot off into the distance while she racked her mind for places she could go.

The flight was long if it wasn't for Talonflame's flame body ability she would have frozen solid long before then. Her eyes could hardly open but she kept herself awake. She'd come up with an ideal place, to go where Brawly went.

Veilstone City was a very long trip from Kanto but she wanted to get as far away from her crime as possible so it didn't matter to her.

Roxanne had mentioned that Brawly chose to stay with Maylene for as long as the war lasted. Flannery had other friends in other regions but felt that none of them would have the authority to judge her like Brawly would.

Veilstone City looked like one of those cities straight out of a concrete mould but Flannery couldn't have imagined anything more beautiful than the sudden sense of freedom she got from being away from Kahto or Hoenn soil.

She walked up to the gym's entrance shakily and tapped nervously on the door, a fresh wave of tears forming in her eyes. Flannery heard footsteps and began getting anxious, thoughts like 'They're going to attack me' running through her mind but it was too late to run by that point. The door was already opening and Talonflame was exhausted.

The pink haired gym leader's eyes widened in shock at the sudden crying Flannery. Emotions consumed Flannery's mind, getting in the way of rational thinking and just spurting out apologetic nonsense.

"Flannery!?" Maylene exclaimed, "What in the world are you doing here?"

To her surprise Maylene didn't sound angry, "I need to speak to Brawly."

Maylene shifted her weight between her feet unsurely, "I'm not sure if I can, Flannery. I mean...isn't Sinnoh supposed to be neutral?"

"I'm...not participating anymore." Flannery sniffed, "I don't want to hurt anyone anymore."

Maylene heard the sincerity in Flannery's voice and looked back into the dark gym, "Brawly?" she called.

Flannery heard footsteps again and came face to face with the surfer, "Flannery?" he asked but then he reached for her shoulder after noticing she was crying, "What happened?" Brawly asked softly.

Flannery found herself crying like a child and hated herself for doing so but she also hated what the 'confident' side of her had done, "I attacked Ecruteak and the Indigo Plateau." Flannery confessed and it shocked her how steady her voice became after that, "I know I can't stay but I need your advice."

Brawly's irises were small with shock. People from Dewford were in Ecruteak, "What did you do?"

Flannery stiffened up, "Roxanne told me to destroy the Bell Tower in Ecruteak so Ho-oh and Lugia wouldn't be options for Kahto and tonight Kahto's shields finally broke." she hung her head in shame, "I can't be forgiven but I don't know what to do."

Maylene spoke hesitantly, "You're not in the war anymore, right?" Flannery shook her head and the tips of Maylene's lips tilted slightly in her attempt to be reassuring but not quite managing it, "Then I'll let you stay here at least for the night. It's late and no-one can think straight at a time like this."

Maylene walked inside the gym, gesturing for the two Hoenn trainers to follow her. Brawly and Flannery exchanged glances but then Brawly went inside without meeting Flannery's eyes again.

* * *

**Happy 10th/38th Chapter everyone! :D Thanks you guys so much for continuing to read this, I couldn't have asked for more considering how many other fics there are! :D**

* * *

**R.I.P. Pryce - The teacher of Winter's Harshness**

**Flannery is out. It's not a surprise considering her true personality and what she did. Hoenn's didn't have a lot of gym leaders but now Kahto's getting a bit thin on the ground too.**

**I'm trying to focus more in these chapters so I hope you guys approve of the changes to come but I also hope you enjoyed his chapter. Please review with any comments, questions or suggestions for the series so I can make this the best it can be for you! :D**


	11. Chapter 11

A group of Kahto trainers were staring at their destroyed headquarters with a mix of grief, shock and anger. They were there to mourn the loss of all who'd been killed but Sabrina had refused to come. Misty knew that she blamed herself but she then again Brock had come. She kept glancing at him throughout the service; his drooped shoulders and fallen face were something completely alien to her. _Their deaths weren't your fault_, she wanted to say but Misty found that she couldn't fully convince herself of that.

But the memorial didn't last for long. Time didn't stop for anything as did the war. The memorial was a relatively short one since they were sitting psyducks standing atop the mountain.

Oak was there just as he'd done for every funeral since but he felt angry eyes on him throughout the entire thing. He met Lance's eyes quickly and his fears were confirmed, Lance definitely suspected him and for the first time Oak was beginning to feel guilty. He always said that he didn't doubt Professor Birch but a lot of people were dead because of Hoenn finding Kahto's weak spots so he couldn't help but wonder sadly. The people like Clair however weren't anywhere near as gloomy. They were sad but their anger was fuelling their actions and convincing them further to further the fight against Hoenn.

Speaking of Hoenn, confusion was quickly spreading through their ranks. With their task completed the people of Lavaridge Town had no need to stay on the Seafoam Island but no-one knew where Flannery had gone. Zane had spread the word that she had gone off with Talonflame after being informed about the fallen shields but she hadn't returned. It was too much for Jasmine to take.

Not only had dozens of people died, Pryce included, but now Flannery was missing and presumed dead. Jasmine later realised how much worse that was.

She had to keep on a happy face for the Olivine public who were on the verge of mass panic, her included, but Jasmine found herself spending more time than necessary hauled up in the lighthouse with Amphy.

From the top of the lighthouse she could see all of Johto if she squinted. The view had been gorgeous on the happy summer evenings but now the view just depressed her. To the south east she saw the battlefield that used to be Cianwood City while to the north west she saw the smoking ruins where...she tore her eyes away from the Plateau and turned back to Amphy.

There'd been another surge of power in Hoenn's attacks. This time they'd sent their entire elite along with Norman and Wallace's people.

The atmosphere should have reflected the mortal combat taking place in Cianwood but Whitney, Falkner and Janine found themselves feeling strangely happy. Janine had been away for so long that Whitney thought the three gym leaders' friendship had been fading but that time felt like nothing whatsoever now she was back and fighting alongside them. Couple that with Lance, Walker and, of course, Chuck being there Falkner couldn't have felt any more confident in this battle's outcome.

Dragonite, Pidgeot, Skarmory and Venomoth were soaring through the skies, attacking any Hoenn Pokémon in sight while Whitney and Chuck were battling on the cliff.

Norman was relieved to be on solid ground. He hated having to fly or swim to Kahto but now he was safe, relatively speaking.

"Hyper voice!" he yelled just in time for Exploud to blow away the incoming Pokémon. The miltank uncurled and landed back on its feet. Norman met eyes with the pink haired gym leader, an inverbal invitation to battle, and returned Exploud so he could throw out _his_ signature Pokémon.

"Mil Mil, use rollout!" Whitney called perkily and Mil Mil curled up again before speeding towards Norman.

"Earthquake!" Norman ordered in retaliation and the cliff began shaking vigorously. A dangerous line of rising rock shot towards a dizzy Mil Mil. The impact sent her flying into the air and Whitney cried out.

She quickly and sadly returned Mil Mil to her pokéball then called out Ring Ring, her ursaring, "Use Hammer arm, Ring Ring!"

Ring Ring roared with anger before sprinting towards the large lazy Pokémon, its paws raised and glowing with energy. Whitney expected Norman to call for his Slaking to dodge the attack but instead she saw his clench his teeth together and let his Pokémon take the hit. The force was enough to knock even an onix to the ground yet Norman's Slaking barely moved. It just stayed in its same lazy position lying on the grass.

"You too scared to even move!?" Whitney taunted weakly, trying to cover her shock at Slaking's defensive power.

"Giga impact!" Norman yelled, pointing at Ring Ring, and Slaking yawned as it got to its feet.

"Take your time!" Whitney shouted impatiently. _If he's going to attack at least don't waste my time in process_, she thought poutily.

Then Slaking started lumbering quickly towards Ring Ring and Whitney, though 'lumbering' was a deceptive description. Slaking was only metres away before Whitney knew it. She didn't even have time to yell a counterattack before Ring Ring was sent flying just like Mil Mil.

Norman sighed in relief; this battle was almost like a reprieve for him. He waited patiently for Slaking to get over his truancy while Whitney ran to her almost fainted Pokémon. He watched her help it to its feet and then they both turned to him with renewed anger, the ursaring somehow managing to stand.

"Bulk up!" she commanded and Ring Ring glowed red with its increased power.

"Hammer arm!" Norman yelled and Slaking started charging again.

"You use hammer arm too, Ring Ring!"

The two Pokémon were stopped, their mutual power cancelling out the other's. There was a brief struggle as each normal type tried to get the upper hand on their opponent but bulked up Ring Ring was now on par with Slaking, until it got lazy.

Slaking started to relax, no longer enforcing its attack, and the relapse allowed Ring Ring to get the upper hand. Slaking was hurled across the cliff until it was about to fall off. Norman hurried to return his Pokémon and managed to save Slaking just in time.

He allowed himself to breathe a sigh of relief before turning back to Whitney who was grinning at her ursaring. Zangoose appeared in a flash and flashed its claws threateningly.

"Thunder punch!" Whitney yelled and Ring Ring sprinted towards the red and white Pokémon with his paws sparking.

"Close combat!" Norman called in retaliation and the two Pokémon met with a fierce mass of punches and blows. They had to break apart and when they did Whitney frowned concernedly at the state of the Pokémon. Zangoose was using a super effective move but Ring Ring was larger and bulked up. They were both breathing heavily and looked beat up but determined all the same.

"Use thrash!" Whitney ordered, remembering that close combat made a Pokémon weaker.

Ring Ring advanced again and Norman told Zangoose to dodge but Ring Ring was a very fast ursaring. Zangoose was caught in one of Ring Ring's large paws and was hurled to the ground, landing with a massive thud.

Norman winced at the attack but kept telling his Pokémon to get up, "Night slash!" he called once Zangoose got to its feet. The black energy sliced through the air and knocked Ring Ring back but he barely moved. Whitney knew that Ring Ring was going to keep using thrash until it got confused so she had to stand by and watch while Norman kept attacking him. Despite her being in the midst of a battle Whitney found her eyes wandering to the battle in the skies.

Falkner, Janine, Lance and Walker were battling with the elite, each partnered up with another. Whitney bit her lip with a worried expression on her face, would Janine and Falkner be able to fight against such advanced trainers?

A cry escaped Whitney's lips as something large and heavy crashed into her. She struggled to breathe as Ring Ring's body started to squash her. She tried to find Ring Ring's pokéball and gasped as a Pokémon over twice her bodyweight disappeared.

She got up shakily and threw out her tauros. Whitney glared at Norman and ordered for tauros to use earthquake. Her tauros' hooves stomped the ground and mooed a strange war cry as the ground shook.

Whitney flapped her arms about wildly to stay upright and she saw Norman and Zangoose having the same problems. The streak of rising rocks snaked towards the Hoenn Pokémon and darted towards them.

Zangoose flew into the air as did Norman and Whitney smirked in victory. She turned to her tauros and beamed, "Well done!"

She was happy about winning the battle but then she noticed an unusually grim expression on her Pokémon's face. She turned her head unsurely to follow his line of sight to the edge of the cliff. Zangoose lay unconscious on the grass, his arm lolling over the edge, but her eyes fell to Norman who was also unconscious.

She exhaled happily, grateful that he hadn't fallen, but now Whitney was confused. If they were both fine then why was her tauros looking so anxious?

"What's wrong?" she crouched to the Pokémon's level and looked it in the eye, not understanding why it was so serious. She jumped instinctively as it suddenly mooed loudly. She looked back to the gym leader and her irises shrank with dread.

She hadn't noticed that Norman had been partially teetering over the edge, "Norman!" she was screaming his name before she could stop herself. She sprinted over to him but it was all starting to unravel very rapidly. He was slipping.

She steeped low to catch him but was too late. She kept screaming as he fell but she clenched her eyes shut. It was too horrible to even consider watching. She heard a splash and fell to her knees but found herself selfishly thinking not about Norman but about Ruby.

Whitney curled into the foetal position, her arms hugging her legs and not wanting to face reality anymore. She felt something nuzzle her reassuringly but she ignored it, feeling that she didn't deserve to be happy.

One of her Pokémon burst out of the pokéball and Whitney felt a wing being wrapped around her shoulder. She looked through her tears and saw the fuzzy outline of Kiss Kiss the togekiss. She was looked down on Whitney with sad eyes but she was obviously trying to put on a brave face.

"_Kiss_._ To-toge_." she crooned. Kiss Kiss spread her wings and tipped as an invitation for Whitney to mount her. Ros Ros butted Whitney gently in the back and tried pushing his trainer onto Kiss Kiss' back.

Whitney couldn't stop herself from crying. She wanted to block out the world and what she'd done but she couldn't do that atop a cliff where there might as well have been a target on her back.

Ros Ros pushed her onto Kiss Kiss' back and waited for Whitney to return him which she did slowly and haltingly. Ros Ros disappeared in a flash of red and Kiss Kiss darted away while ignoring any orders from her trainer.

Falkner watched Kiss Kiss fly away. He didn't understand why but trusted Whitney's decision. He noticed a bunch of Petalburg trainers readying attacks against his fleeing friend.

"Pidgeot, use heat wave." he said to the bird Pokémon and Pidgeot blasted the people below the, allowing Whitney to get away. Falkner's head snapped around as he heard a sudden crash from behind him and when he did he received a spray of heat.

"Keep alert!" Lance scolded as his dragonite charged Drake's salamence. Falkner clenched his teeth together. As degrading as being scolded was, Lance was right.

"Brave bird!" Falkner called and Pidgeot darted towards the Hoenn dragon trainer but had to pull away at the last second as a flurry of ice shards flew in their direction. They both looked to the source and saw Glacia's glalie desperately trying to hit Walker and his skarmory. Relief spread through Falkner. He'd be fine.

He and Lance however were a different story. Drake was intent on destroying Lance and Falkner couldn't shake the feeling that he wasn't doing anything except getting in the way of the two skilled dragon masters.

"Thunder fang!" Drake yelled and his salamence shot towards Dragonite.

"Ice punch!" Lance yelled once Salamence was within punching distance and the two collided. Dragonite's frozen fist in Salamence's sparking mouth.

Dragonite was determined to punch Salamence while Salamence refused to let go so the two dragons were locked together, simultaneously wanting to break apart and wanting to collide. Lance and Drake were at an impasse but then Pidgeot slammed into Salamence with the power of brave bird.

Lance smirked triumphantly and he looked to Falkner, "Leave him to me!" Falkner nodded and sped off, leaving Lance and Drake exchanging challenging looks.

Drake threw out his flygon and Lance threw out his hydreigon to counter it. _I guess it's gonna be a double battle_, Lance mused.

"Dark pulse!" Lance yelled.

"Dragon pulse!" Drake yelled and the two attacks collided with a massive explosion that shook the very air. The dragons kept repeating their attacks but each one hit the other until they were bathed in a thick cloud of smoke. Lance could barely see but he kept his confidence in Hydreigon.

He cried out in pain as the dragon pulse slammed into his shoulder. His arm jerked uncontrollably as the energy coursed through him.

Anger built up inside him, "Draco meteor!" Lance roared and his two dragons released a ball of energy into the sky in unison.

Drake looked up and saw the two balls explode into several charged boulders which rained down, "Boomburst!" he called and Flygon flew up, blasting as many meteors as he could. Drake kept glancing angrily at Lance so it wasn't much of a surprise to the champion when Drake's salamence sped forward.

"Ice punch!" Lance yelled but then he automatically clutched his arm in pain.

The two dragons collided once again but the impact almost knocked Lance off Dragonite. It was only him quickly grabbing onto Dragonite's arm. Dragonite tried swinging the champion back onto its back but by then Drake had attacked again.

"Dragon pulse!" he yelled and Flygon shot purple energy straight at Lance. A draco meteor then smashed into the distracted dragon, promptly fainting it. Dragonite wasn't quick enough to protect its trainer. The beam shot at Lance and hit him once again but this time in the chest. Lance felt an even greater amount of pain in his heart before he slumped.

Dragonite's fury was unmatched. He and Hydreigon were acting of their own accord now and though their primal strategies would never be as good as Lance's it was still enough to drive back Drake along with the help of several other trainers who'd noticed the commotion. Dragonite managed to convey what had happened to one of the trainers that worked under Clair and with a heavy heart sent them on their way.

Thick plumes of fire erupted from Skarmory's open metal beak, instantly melting all of Glalie's attacks. Walker craned his neck but couldn't see Glacia past the flames. He was waiting for something to happen even though he wasn't quite sure what 'that' was.

The fire kept billowing out steadily but then something shot past Walker's ear, too small and quick to be seen. Walker tensed and then the flurry began once more.

Icicles shot out past the flames but Walker didn't have long to wonder about his rising incredulousness. His body exploded with pain and he found himself marvelling about how his chest and neck could feel so cold yet so warm at the same time.

It only took a small breeze to unsteady him. Walker was falling backwards. Falling downwards. Falling...He tried looking in the direction of Falkner but his vision had become darkness.

Falkner was continuing to attack Drake with Lance but a high, metal-on-metal sounding screech penetrated the sounds of cries and attacks. Falkner immediately recognised it as Skarmory and looked around to see it diving towards the sea. Then he saw him.

He wished for time to speed up, or even slow down. So what if the agonising moment lasts longer if only he could convince himself it was a dream.

He urged Pidgeot to speed up. It was the fastest Pokémon he had so they were there within seconds but not before the sound of crashing water could be heard. Pidgeot was hovering at the height of Skarmory's talons and Falkner felt his blood turn to ice. _It can't be_...he kept telling himself but the proof was there, tearing him from his dream and shoving him into reality which felt like cold water.

He felt so hollow. Hollow sadness was all he felt at that moment but then rage began seeping in, filling the void. He was no longer aware of his actions. He was a puppet being controlled by anger, devoid of volition.

A shot rang out. Piercing the chaos and creating a second of silence as everyone looked for the source of the sound. The Hoenn trainers were wondering but everyone from Kahto knew. Only one person there was armed, the police officer.

Falkner had shot blindly so the bullet had flown way past Glacia but she didn't hesitate to get out her walrein. Battling was perfectly fine with her but firearms was crossing the line. She was no fool and she knew perfectly well that she wouldn't survive that.

Venomoth darted towards Pidgeot the moment Janine had heard the gunshot. She saw with great terror her friend _aiming_ the gun. That meant he _wanted_ to hit someone. She grabbed his shoulder and he spun around. They met each other's eyes and the sadness Janine saw was unbearable. He didn't say anything. Janine had distracted him long enough for Glacia to get away. No words were said, he just flew away.

* * *

**R.I.P. Norman - A man in pursuit of power**

**R.I.P. Lance**

**R.I.P. Walker**

* * *

**I think this wins the 'Most Depressing Chapter Yet' award. This was such a pain to write just because I _really_ didn't want to write the deaths of two fathers and a brother/cousin.**

**Now Kahto is without a champion and I think you all should know what's going to happen next...**

**But I hope you all enjoyed this chapter and please review with any comments, questions or suggestions! :D**


	12. Chapter 12

Clair was going to destroy every last one of them. She would raze Hoenn if it killed her, just as they'd killed him. The fact that Drake's Pokémon had killed him made it more obvious that it must have been their intention. That's why nothing would be spared from her wrath.

That's how she'd felt but now all she could do is reflect on all her happy memories with him and mourn, "Big brother*..." she whispered sadly to herself.

She was just outside the small temple in the middle of Dragon's Den. It was Mike who suggested she go there and now she was thankful. Usually the Dragon Tamer Clan would be here but Clair suspected that people were trying to give her some time alone, well away from other humans.

Kingdra was swimming gently in the cold water, putting on a brave face for Clair despite that not being too obvious to someone who didn't know it.

Karen was easily heard. The sound of her clambering down the old ladder echoed through the empty cavern and Clair was facing that direction anyway. Karen was looking unfamiliarly nervous as she approached Clair.

Honchkrow was already hovering nearby so Karen could fly across the water to the temple. She was only granted access because she had the rising badge but she still felt out of place.

"Clair, can we talk?"

Clair's eyes held no tears but she was looking away regardless, "Has something happened?"

Karen's first reaction was to cross her arms, Clair knew perfectly well why she was here, but then she uncrossed them. She remembered how Clair was feeling and realised that looking defensive or intimidating might not end well, "This is about the Champion. With Lance gone it should fall to the next elite, me, but everyone knows I wasn't meant to be a leader."

Clair had expected Karen to refuse the position but she wondered why she'd come to a gym leader instead of another one of the elite four, "After you it should be Bruno. Did he refuse as well?"

Karen shook her head, "Koga or Bruno may be fit for the position but we unanimously agreed that you should take Lance's place. You'd be an elite if you didn't prioritise the Blackthorn gym."

The gym leader couldn't deny it. It was her duty to inherit the gym, "And that's still the truth. How can I be the gym leader _and_ the champion?"

Karen held up her hands, "You don't have to be." Karen sighed and ran a hand through her silver hair, "But the real reason we wanted you is because you're so similar to Lance. He was a great champion and was the main reason we haven't lost yet. In times like these we need people like him and you. Koga, Bruno, Will and I understand that we lack what you have and what Kahto needs."

Clair stood up straight and looked Karen in the eyes, "Then I accept."

Karen smiled softly then chuckled, "Thank goodness. I'm no leader and I think everybody knows that." she raised her arm and grabbed Honchkrow's leg so they could fly back.

Clair was left alone in the darkness with Kingdra but she realised that she was standing with much more confidence than when she'd entered. _Champion_...she let that word mull about in her head. _I'll make you proud, big brother_, she vowed.

She took out two pokéballs and held them out with an air of sadness. Out came her salamence and altaria. Altaria let out a melodic cry of hello while salamence grunted.

Looking at them made Clair feel even guiltier about what she was about to do but she'd already made up her mind. It wouldn't be right for a champion to use such Pokémon in a war.

She still had no tears in her eyes but she found her voice wavering with emotion, "I'm sorry Altaria, Salamence...I can't use you anymore. At least until the war is over."

Altaria and Salamence stared at Clair was a disbelieving moment but then Salamence closed his eyes in acceptance. Altaria looked quickly to Salamence but then relented. Clair smiled at them to try cheering them up and the two smiled weakly to try cheering _her_ up.

"You can stay in the Dragon's Den under the clan's watch. I _promise_ I'll come back for you two." Salamence and Altaria's smiles stretched slightly as they became more genuine and Clair slowly walked onto Kingdra's back. Kingdra sailed towards the rock platform with the ladder on it.

* * *

Despite Professor Oak wished the circumstances that led to it had never happened he couldn't help but be impressed by the amount of effort Morty had put into saving his citizens.

He was sitting in one of the Cherrygrove City houses with Morty and the eldest kimono girl, Kuni. He'd been occasionally sipping the tea Kuni had prepared as the three of them discussed matters.

"And he didn't answer at all?" Oak asked with a frown on his face.

Morty shook his head with an equally forlorn expression, "I think he doesn't want to confront the fact that it _was_ Flannery who attacked Ecruteak City because apparently he's still talking to Jasmine."

"Has she had any luck?"

Morty shook his head again, "Steven's positive that this war's not going to end with a surrender since he has to save face and Kahto's too proud."

Oak gestured to his head, "Have you seen anything relevant?"

Morty laced his fingers together and looked down, "Nothing good, just disasters."

Oak's eyes widened, "Have you warned La-Clair?" the weight of his mistake lingered in the silence of the room. No-one had adjusted to the sudden change in leadership yet.

"I did tell her but she accused me of lying."

Oak furrowed his eyebrows, "Why would she do that? You're not the type of person who'd lie in a situation like this."

Morty shrugged, "You know as well as I do why she did it. Neither side can back down now, even under the threat of catastrophe."

Oak's shoulders slumped sadly, "Is there anything we should specifically look out for?" he asked with a sigh.

"My visions have been growing less frequent as of late but I have been dreaming a lot, mostly of Ecruteak City but I think that's me missing it rather than a premonition."

Oak didn't look convinced but found no reason to press further. With no-one living there anymore no-one would be in danger. They began talking more about Cherrygrove City idly, along with other matters, and then their conversations began drifting to Lance, Walker and Norman despite Oak's best efforts.

"It must be terrible for Ruby and Falkner. Losing your father at such young ages…" Kuni said sadly, "Do you know how Professor Birch is coping?"

"They were heavy losses on both sides. Birch and Ruby are trying to stay strong but it's actually Falkner who I'm worrying about."

Morty frowned, confused, "Falkner? Why would you be worried about him? I know he pretty much idolised Walker but…"

"Janine and Whitney told me they've lost contact with him. I wouldn't have dreamed of the day those three drifted apart."

Morty was mid-nod when the dots finally connected in his mind, "Birds…" he muttered to himself, his face dawning in fear.

"What is it?" Kuni asked nervously but Morty turned to Oak.

"Where are Janine and Whitney at the moment?" Morty asked with an added sense of urgency in his voice.

Oak thought for a moment, "I think they're both in Goldenrod City. I expect Janine is trying to cheer Whitney up after what happened."

Morty nodded, "Samuel, I need you to take your van over to Goldenrod and get them. After that I need you to take them over to Ecruteak City and stop whatever's happening there."

Oak stood up and searched inside his lab coat's pockets for his keys, "What's happening?" he questioned.

Morty closed his eyes in concentration, "Maybe my dreams haven't just been dreams." he explained cryptically, "I've seen flying types in Ecruteak City just before a looming disaster. If it is him then they may be the only ones who can stop it." Oak nodded and rushed off without another word.

* * *

"Can you tell me what in the world's going on!?" Whitney's question became more of a cry as she fell out of the van's seat as Oak made a sharp corner. As more and more people started using cars roads had been set up throughout Kahto for those without Pokémon but the main problem with them was that they were often circuitous.

Janine helped Whitney back onto the seat and looked at Oak with a confused expression, "Why would Falkner be in Ecruteak City?"

Whitney looked to Janine, "Falkner? Why bring him up?"

"What do both of us have in common?" Janine asked and Whitney nodded in understanding.

"Morty predicts something terrible is going to happen and recommended I take the two of you." The van suddenly swerved and Whitney almost fell off the seat again.

"Where did you learn to drive!?" Whitney yelled and Oak tugged on the steering wheel to right to van.

"It's not me!" he cried defensively and Janine looked in terror out the window.

"I think it's the weather!" she exclaimed and Oak chanced a glance out of the window. His eyes widened in shock. The van was shaking violently in the gusts as Oak pulled up in Ecruteak and rushed out of the van into his worst nightmare.

* * *

With the Indigo Plateau destroyed Clair was forced to convene a meeting in the Cianwood gym. At least that way they'd be able to defend Cianwood in the event of an attack. There were no chairs in the Cianwood gym so everyone was either standing or leaning against the wall. The air was sombre. Janine and Whitney were standing next to each other and looking down at the wooden floor.

"It was attempted mass destruction of an entire region. No matter what our current relations are we can't ignore it." Clair summed up, breaking the quiet.

"But his father just died! He wasn't himself!" Whitney pleaded.

"And it _was_ a failure." Chuck added. He had his arms folded and was standing where the waterfall usually poured.

Blue's expression looked pained, "What if it hadn't been? Would you be defending him if Hoenn had just been blown apart?" he asked solemnly.

Clair looked at Blue as if he'd reminded her of something, "Before we decide his punishment I have to make one thing clear, no-one outside this gym should know of what happened. Make sure Professor Oak doesn't tell anyone." her words were pointed at Blue and he forced himself to nod in understanding.

"We know for a fact that Hoenn is saving their legendaries for dire circumstances. If they knew how close we were to unleashing _our_ legendaries they'll have no choice but to attack first." said Karen.

"So what do we tell the public? There's no way they'd buy that Falkner abandoned the war, especially after what happened with Walker." Brock asked.

"We'll still tell them he was arrested. He can't _get away_ with it." Will explained, "We're not allowed to give any details."

Koga looked at Will sceptically, "That will just arouse more suspicion."

Bruno sighed, "It's that or telling the truth."

"Now that's sorted, what about the punishment? The destruction of a region is not something to be taken lightly."

"Are you deaf Sabrina?" Janine said angrily, "Hoenn hasn't been destroyed!"

"I know. But since we're playing the 'what if' game I'm merely going along." she looked to Clair, "It's just a matter of life, or death." she added ominously and Whitney and Jasmine gasped in unison.

"How can you even consider that!?" Whitney yelled, "When he technically did nothing!"

Chuck glared at Sabrina, "All he did was want to end the war. If that's a crime worthy of capital punishment then we _all_ should be dead."

She folded her arms defensively, "Don't snap at me. All I want is for the correct punishment to be carried out."

Whitney muttered something inaudibly and Blaine looked around the present group, "Let's do this diplomatically."

Clair glared at Sabrina then met everyone's eyes, "We'll vote on it. Whoever agrees on imprisonment, raise their hand."

Janine knew that it was basically condemning her best friend but she knew that it was prison or something much worse. She glanced around and saw to her relief that the result was a clear majority despite a few who surprisingly omitted.

Clair quickly counted in her head, "It's settled then. Falkner will have to serve a minimum of five years in prison but there will be no question about his life." she turned her head to face Blue, "Make sure Oak doesn't say anything."

She adjourned the meeting and Blue, along with Bruno and Blaine, made to leave. Blue didn't look back to the two others but knew where they were going. Since the high-risk prison was in the Seafoam Islands Blaine was usually put in charge of things like that and he needed an elite to help him.

He gritted his teeth and mounted Aerodactyl. It took off for Pallet Town and Blue started to reflect on how the war was messing with him, Oak and Daisy. It seems like every single time he went to visit his gramps he was relaying warnings from a higher-up.

Aerodactyl was fast enough to get to Kahto in a short time but it was long enough for Blue to be feeling even more depressed than when he'd been in the 'court'.

He hesitated slightly before opening the lab door and he walked in on Oak and Daisy talking but Blue noticed Oak quickly press a button on his computer. Blue cursed his luck. Having to confront his grandfather was awkward enough but it would be unbearable with Daisy in the room.

Daisy met the gym leader's eyes and beamed, making Blue feel even worse. His eyes fell to the floor but then he looked to Oak. His voice was unemotional and fast, "Gramps, Clair is ordering a complete silence when it comes to Falkner. You can't tell anyone about what happened."

Oak looked regretfully at his grandson, "If the champion says so..." he said, his voice lacking his usual cheer.

Blue wheeled around, wanting to get away so he didn't have to face his recent actions, but then Oak spoke up again, "I'm sorry for putting you in this situation, Blue."

Blue tensed up but then dropped as he sighed, "Don't be. I've made my own choices and I'm past the age where you're responsible for me."

Blue walked out and Daisy looked to her grandfather who was still staring sadly at the space where Blue had been.

* * *

***I know Lance is her cousin but I'm going with the canon that she thinks of him as a big brother.**

* * *

**I hope you enjoyed this chapter and please review with any comments, questions or suggestions! :D**


	13. Chapter 13

This was going to be one of the first battles with Clair as the new champion but Karen had to admit that she wasn't confident that they were going to win, not that that was the point. Clair had decided that while defending Cianwood and the rest of Kahto was the priority they had to take offensive action or the war would go on for much longer than it needed to be. The point of this attack wasn't to win, that would be aiming too high, but it was a revenge of sorts. They attacked the Indigo Plateau so they were going to attack Ever Grande City.

Most of the fighters from Vermillion City had been on the offensive front but they'd stationed in the border area, only attacking incoming Hoenn forces, but they were more than happy for an opportunity to attack Hoenn itself.

Clair had warned Karen and Will of who'd be there, probably Roxanne, Steven and Phoebe, but the prospect of fighting the champion didn't scare them at all. They'd been wanting a bit of excitement.

Karen was flying with Honchkrow while Will was on Xatu, fairly limited Pokémon but once they got to Hoenn it would be much easier for them. Easy being a relative term since there were Hoenn forces guarding their league's headquarters.

Roxanne looked worriedly up at the sky, their information hadn't been wrong after all. She'd been well aware of the Vermilion pests who'd been disrupting their movements between regions but she'd never thought that Clair would use them for an attack so soon into her reign.

"They're incoming quickly. What's our position?" Roxanne asked Steven through her pokénav.

"Hold them off and drive them back. Phoebe and I will join once we've finished securing the building, I don't feel like losing such an important place." the champion replied.

Roxanne nodded and turned off the device before looking to Ruby who was standing beside her with his swampert looking angrily at the sky. Even though Norman had been strict about him not fighting, matters had severely changed with his death. Roxanne still couldn't believe that _Whitney_ of all people was his killer.

"Get ready!" she called, her voice loud and clear as the addressed the many trainers, "Our orders are to push them back. Don't let them land." She threw out her Probopass and waited for the Kahto forces to come.

Suddenly it started raining as someone from Vermillion's Pokémon used rain dance, increasing the accuracy of their electrical attacks. Karen smirked but clenched her eyes shut and lighting thundered down on the Hoenn forces below them.

When she opened her eyes the ground below was scattered with confused or unconscious people and Pokémon and there were dozens of charred patches. Karen yelled a command to the people and Honchkrow swooped down with Xatu just behind.

Karen let go of Honchkrow and landed onto the grass, Will following shortly. They exchanged a quick glance before throwing out their Pokémon.

Weavile, Houndoom and Exeggutor appeared in a flash and went immediately into the fray. The blackened earth was quickly turning to mud so it was difficult to run but the two elites were managing somehow.

Weavile darted around the battlefield, seemingly just a dark blur, and was cutting down Pokémon with low kick or knocking them to the ground with ice punch while Karen and Will used Houndoom and Exeggutor to blast back any attacker.

"Power gem!" Roxanne yelled across the chaos and Probopass shot the sharp charged gems at the two. The impact caused a cloud of smoke but Roxanne didn't wait for it to clear before sending Armaldo out with x-scissor. The plate Pokémon shot forwards with unusual speed for a rock-type but then it was sent flying backwards. Roxanne followed her Pokémon's path before her head snapped back to the cause.

The smoke cleared to reveal Will smirking next to Exeggutor who was bobbing as if it was dancing, "Did that surprise you?" Will asked playfully.

Roxanne growled and was about to order Probopass to attack but then the world turned sideways as her legs were swept from the ground. She saw Weavile speed back to its trainer and the two elites still smirking infuriatingly.

"Flash cannon!" Roxanne yelled as she got to her feet.

"Dark pulse!"

"Reflect again!" Karen and Will commanded at the same time, resulting in the flash cannon being dispersed. Roxanne's eyes widened in shock but then narrowed with anger, she expected as much from trainers in the elite four.

"Our turn." Karen said ominously and the two yelled more attacks. Egg bomb, shadow ball, ice shard and sludge bomb shot at Roxanne, Probopass and Armaldo.

"Sandstorm!" Roxanne cried and the wind began picking up at a rapid rate until the rock-type gym leader and her Pokémon were surrounded in a shield of sand. Sprays of sand flew at them but other than that the attacks didn't breach the shield.

"Pretty clever but I'd expect that from the 'Rock loving honour student'." Karen complimented, her voice mockingly lacking sincerity.

Roxanne looked to Probopass and Armaldo, "Power gem, curse!" she ordered. As Armaldo began glowing with shadow energy Probopass starting shooting the gems through the sandstorm shield. Roxanne suspected that the attacks weren't hitting their marks since they were shooting blind but soon Armaldo would be strong enough to go out there.

Karen was frowning. She didn't understand how a sandstorm could be _that_ powerful. Their Pokémon kept blasting the shield but as far as she could see nothing was penetrating. Then again, all of the power gems were bouncing off Exeggutor's reflect.

Will tossed Bronzong's pokéball into the air and the bronze bell Pokémon came out, "Gravity!" Will called and Roxanne's breath was cut short as the sudden force drove her and Armaldo to their knees. Probopass slammed into the ground and in a matter of seconds the sandstorm was destroyed. Roxanne growled but couldn't even raise her head in the harsh gravity. She was completely at their mercy.

"Aaand hypnosis!" Exeggutor bobbed from side to side, his eyes emitting a psychic light, and the three dropped to the floor. As the three fell, Bronzong stopped glowing and the intense gravity lifted. Karen smiled. Roxanne was very talented but there wasn't any doubt about a gym leader who was full of strategies against two elites who specialised in taking down strategies just to infuriate their opponents.

Will dusted his hands, "One league member down. Who else is there?" he asked.

"Phoebe…" Karen grinned, "And the champion."

Will grinned back, "So just Steven then?"

Karen nodded and threw out Honchkrow. She paused as she waited for the Kahto trainer's who'd noticed her to get out of the way then brought down her hand and yelled. A powerful whirlwind erupted from Honchkrow's wings, blowing back any unaware Hoenn people and Pokémon, "Revenge time." she smirked and the Will yelled another command. Exeggutor's egg bomb rode the whirlwind all the way to the building and though the explosion was great, it was not enough the cause lasting damage. Someone from Vermillion City flying on a dragonite noticed the two and shouted something to the rest of those from Vermillion.

People from all over the battlefield momentarily stopped fighting just long enough to prepare another lightning strike that couldn't miss. Thunder shot towards the League building and despite many attempts by Hoenn trainers to intercept the blow it struck. Karen had to feel slightly disappointed that the lightning _didn't_ destroy the building there and then but it was clear that there were powerful shields set up. Steven must have predicted that Kahto would come back one day for revenge.

After the months of hiding out there Karen knew the layout of Ever Grande City like the back of her hand but when they reached the building they were not met without resistance. Houndoom, Weavile, Exegggutor, Xatu and Honchkrow were blasting back attackers to grant them an easy path but then someone managed to actually get an attack in.

"Houndoom, use sludge bomb!" Karen called, gesturing to where the attack had come from but the swampert surprising managed to dodge. It was leaping at houndoom, its fists glowing with brick break, but was shot backwards by dark pulse.

"Earthquake!" yelled the trainer and Karen's eyes widened as she recognised who it was.

"Damn!" she cried as she quickly grabbed onto Honchkrow's talons, avoiding the ground attack. She looked down and saw a young trainer, about seventeen years old, glaring at Will. Exeggutor was using egg bomb from behind a reflect but Swampert was unbelievably agile for something so stocky looking.

"Brick break!" Brendan growled and Swampert leapt into the air, bringing his flat hand down on the psychic shield. The shield shattered and triumph flashed in Brendan's eyes but Swampert had frozen in mid-air.

Will's exeggutor had trapped Swampert in psychic and Brendan's irises shrank in fear. Swampert was hurled at Brendan and they both slammed into a nearby wall. The impact was enough to wind Brendan but not enough to render him unconscious.

"Rock slide!" he gasped and Swampert staggered slightly before bounding after Exeggutor.

"Psychic again." Exeggutor bobbed like a dancer and Swampert was once again caught in mid-air. Exeggutor aimed away from the teenager this time but this time Swampert fainted.

Brendan cried out and then returned his Pokémon, clutching his sides as he did so, "Swellow, aerial ace!"

Swellow appeared in a flash and darted towards the now unprotected Exeggutor, "Ice punch!" Karen commanded. Brendan looked around for the Pokémon but Weavile attacked too quickly. Swellow was hurled to the ground and Weavile darted out of sight but Karen felt a pang of guilt as it did so. Fighting a boy two-on-one was the opposite of a fair fight and even though Karen enjoyed winning it just felt wrong.

"Will, I'll leave him to you!" she called across the fight and she saw him nod quickly before grinning and attacking once more.

Karen dropped onto the muddy ground and sprinted to the League building. She reached the doors, Will stopping Brendan from doing anything about it, and looked to her three Pokémon, "Ice shard, flamethrower, whirlwind!" she ordered and the doors were soon blown apart. This mission was more for the destruction than the fighting to her.

The foyer of the league building was a complete mess but thankfully deserted. Karen strolled in, bracing for an attack as she did so, but all she was a partially destroyed and empty room. She walked slowly into the centre of the room and...

"Sucker punch!" Karen quickly yelled and Honchkrow flew at the suddenly appeared Driftblim. Driftblim was shot against a wall and another battle began to rage on.

"Night slash! Flamethrower! Thunder wave!" she rapidly called and her Pokémon leapt into action. Weavile lunging at Driftblim while Houndoom and Honchkrow turned to the Metagross charging at them. Karen jumped to the wall just in time to avoid be hurled across the lobby by Steven's metagross.

Phoebe and Steven had entered and Karen bit her lip. She'd probably be able to win if Will joined but she knew that going up against a champion was risky.

Metagross seized up from the paralysis and was blasted with flames but withstood them. Thankfully Driftblim wasn't so adamant, it was having trouble floating after Weavile and Honchkrow's attacks.

"Phantom force!" Phoebe commanded and Driftblim evaporated, dissolving into shadow. Karen felt like she was getting a headache from watching two battles at the same time.

"Use steel wing!" Steven commanded and Karen was caught off guard as a skarmory's wing slammed into her. She crashed into the wall and began breathing raggedly. Everything hurt, but she had to keep on going.

"N-asty plot!" she coughed, "Use ice shard and sucker punch!" Houndoom stood protectively in front of his trainer as he used the move while Honchkrow once again intercepted Driftblim's phantom force. Weavile took a deep breath before unleashing a blizzard of icicles onto Skarmory.

Steven and Phoebe were about to shout their orders when a powerful blast interrupted them. Will smashed into the wall then a hurdling bronzong collided with him.

"Will!" Karen cried and then Brendan sprinted into the foyer, his breloom running by his side.

For a scary moment Will didn't move but then he managed a grin, "It'll take more than that." he taunted by his voice was weak.

Karen forced herself to get to her feet and tried to even out her breathing, "Whirlwind!" she shouted and Honchkrow threw all of the Hoenn trainers against the other wall. Steven's back crashed awkwardly into one of the computers and Phoebe slammed into one of the desks but Brendan was more or less spared from injury.

Will used the nearer desk to pull himself up and he straightened up, "Let's see how long it takes to destroy _your_ headquarters! Bronzong, payback!"

"Houndoom, flamethrower!"

Houndoom's flames, over twice as powerful from the use of nasty plot, billowed out with tremendous heat and started setting everything on fire while Bronzong practically exploded with energy.

Skarmory darted at Will without its trainer's consent but Karen wasn't going to let anyone else beat up her partner, "Drill peck!" she yelled and Honchkrow smashed into Skarmory, sending it crashing onto the floor and leaving a massive crater.

The building shook violently as a flash of searing light shortly flooded in from outside and the two Kahto elites smirked. The lightning strikes were going to pierce the shields one of these times, "Rock tomb!" Brendan shouted and Breloom hurled the boulders that had phased into existence at Karen and she suddenly found herself stuck between a rock and a hard place.

Karen couldn't move or see and she muttered a thank you to the fact she wasn't claustrophobic, "Attack them with everything you've got!" she yelled, a command to her Pokémon but a motivational message for Will.

Phoebe was glad she couldn't see the anger behind Will's mask. The two trainers were closer than siblings and she was realising how bad it had been for Brendan to get into this fight. Steven and Phoebe were adults who made their own choices but dragging a child into the war was just wrong.

Brendan and Steven called more attacks while Phoebe threw out Sableye, "Shadow ball!" she ordered but Will wasn't attacking them back. Skarmory and Breloom advanced while the shadow ball tore through the air towards Will and it was a second before the collision when Steven realised something was up.

Bronzong, Xatu and Exegggutor seemed like pins set up to be knocked over but several things hadn't crossed the champion's mind. Such as all of them knowing psychic and there always being something more than meets the eye with the Kahto psychic elite.

Skarmory, Breloom and the shadow ball were all about to collide when all of Will's Pokémon's eyes glowed at once. Skarmory and the shadow ball slammed onto the floor and the two Pokémon were suddenly forced to crash into each other.

Phoebe and Brendan tried to go to the them but only found that there was an invisible wall in the way. Brendan swore loudly and started banging on the reflect. Brendan and Phoebe's hands went to their pokéballs when they realised in unison that the only Pokémon that could escape a barrier were already fainted.

Will's shoulders drooped in relief and he pointed to the wall of rock that was trapping Karen, "Use psychic, Exeggutor." The rock glowed with psychic energy and Karen was finally freed. She looked around at the trapped trainers and glared at them after smiling in thanks at Will.

"What now?" she asked with a sinister tone. Weavile, Honchkrow and Houndoom had already made their way to their trainer.

"Giga impact!" Steven suddenly yelled and Karen and Will's mischievous expressions turned to confusion.

Houndoom abruptly started to move before Karen even knew what was going on and in doing so it probably saved its trainer. It shoved Karen out of the way of Metagross' way and was hit square on by the steel type's most power attack.

Karen wheeled around and Weavile and Honchkrow dived at the Pokémon while Karen ran to her fainted Pokémon. She returned it and began mentally cursing herself. _How didn't I notice a massive steel block of a Pokémon_? Karen asked herself but then she remembered. She'd forgotten how Metagross had been paralysed, not unconscious.

Her Pokémon attacked with their dark type moves along with Will's Pokémon but Metagross took it like it was nothing and fear started to creep into Karen's mind.

"Use meteor mash!" Steven called, his arms crossed calmly but his face looking angry. Karen and Will weren't quick enough to react so their Pokémon were simultaneously attacked by Metagross' four flailing arms. The five Pokémon were blown backwards and when Weavile slammed into the reflect Will had set up to trap the trainers Brendan realised how clever Steven was. It was no longer a cage, it was protection for them.

Metagross was in the middle of the ring of Pokémon but Steven was feeling confident, "Bullet punch!" Metagross sped around, targeting the Exeggutor, Weavile and Bronzong who were in front of it. Not even Weavile was agile enough to dodge its quick attack. All three of them were rendered unconscious.

"Psychic!" Will yelled and Xatu picked up Metagross off the ground. It levitated Metagross and threw it across the room. The Hoenn trainers cried out as Metagross was thrown through the wall, leaving a massive hole in place of the door. Karen thought it was somewhat of a victory but since the Indigo Plateau was razed then they wouldn't be even until Ever Grande City was the same.

"Metagross, use zen headbutt!" Steven commanded and Metagross crawled from its hole before launching itself at the Kahto Pokémon.

"Confuse ray!" Karen yelled, throwing out her umbreon.

"Psychic!" Will called and Metagross was stopped in its tracks. Umbreon leapt into the air and its eyes began to glow, bombarding Metagross with the rays.

Xatu released Metagross and Steven repeated his command but instead of responding with zen headbutt it spun around slammed itself into a wall. Cracks webbed across the paint and the two elites exchanged mischievous glances. With a Pokémon as strong as Metagross going on a rampage their job should be easy.

"Metagross, bullet punch!" Steven shouted but Metagross kept charging in the opposite direction, destroying more and more of the foyer as the battle continued. Reflect had once again become a trap and the caged trainers could do nothing but watch. Finally Metagross snapped out of it and began charging at the Pokémon. Then the building shook again.

The lightning had struck numerous times during the battle but this one was followed by the sound of crumbling bricks. Steven's face fell in fear but the three of them enclosed in one space meant that they couldn't even move properly, let alone call out any Pokémon.

"Shadow ball!" Will ordered and the attack blasted back Metagross into the reflect, finally destroying the attack. Any other time Steven would have marvelled at the unbelievable strength of Will's Pokémon but at the moment we was too consumed with anger and fear for Phoebe, Brendan and anyone else in the building.

"Bullet punch!" he yelled but Metagross was already flying backwards, Umbreon having used sucker punch. Metagross hit the wall and another mass of cracks appeared but while everyone's eyes were locked on the battle Phoebe saw the web of cracks spreading to the ceiling.

Sableye had fainted but Phoebe threw out all her remaining Pokémon. Karen saw this as a threat and was about to attack when Phoebe shouted something and ethereal light flooded everyone's eyes. Everybody felt their bodies dissolve then be pieced back together in the space of less than a second and the next thing Karen and Will knew they were falling.

The ocean was rapidly approaching and they couldn't stifle their screams but then Karen felt a talon reach for her shoulder. She looked up and sighed loudly in relief. Honchkrow had saved her and from what she could see Will was on Xatu.

Now the fear of imminent death had passed their confusion took its place. They looked around and found themselves hovering just above the sea between Hoenn and Johto. Ever Grande City was still visible but something was distinctly lacking. Karen looked behind her and saw people at various stages of shock and confusion, all of them from Kahto.

"What happened?"

"Where the heck are we?"

"Where'd Hoenn go?"

The voices rang out in confusion and it took a lot of shouting from Karen to calm everybody down. Karen looked back at the league building and saw with a satisfied smile how damaged it was but then she looked back and saw how damaged the people were despite their assertions that they were fine.

Karen took a deep breath and ordered everyone to go back to Kahto, even the ones from Vermillion City who'd been staying on the border. They flew home and Karen felt the feeling of not having achieved anything pervade her mind but at the moment her exhaustion was great enough to ignore it.

* * *

**Woah this was a long one. I really hope I got Will and Karen right. I find those two, especially Will, difficult because of the balance between tricksters and elites in them.**

**I'm happy I got this done though because I've been wanting to write a more exciting chapter for a while now so :D**

**I hope you enjoyed this chapter and please review with any comments, questions or suggestions you have for the series :D**


	14. Chapter 14

Roxanne was slowly waking up. She blinked slowly but every time her eyes closed she'd see echoes of the blinding light that sent her to sleep in the first place and feel drowsier. Then she jolted upright with worry like a child who'd forgotten an assignment meant for that day, not that she'd ever been that child.

She got to her feet and then shook Probopass and Armaldo, trying to wake them up but they were peacefully sleeping. Roxanne looked around in confusion and saw a complete lack of Kahto trainers. Her eyes gazed towards to the league's headquarters and sighed in relief. Many parts of the building were blackened and windows were shattered but it was nothing they couldn't fix. Roxanne smirked. Their endeavour had been fruitless.

"Roxanne!" Brendan called and the gym leader turned her head towards the young trainer who was jogging over to her, looking very bruised and roughed up.

"What in the world happened?" she asked and it was Phoebe who answered her question.

"I managed to teleport us out of danger and the trainers from Kahto to the border." Phoebe explained.

Roxanne frowned at the word 'danger' and looked to Brendan for answers, "Will and Karen were inside trying to destroy the place but didn't make it past the foyer." he grinned triumphantly.

"But the ceiling caved in. We'd be dead if not for Phoebe." Steven said, walking up to the three trainers. Brendan's eyes widened in fear at the news but he was also shocked at Steven's anger, especially when Steven turned to him, "Why were you fighting Will in the first place? No matter how they appear, no elite four is weak."

Brendan's face fell slightly before re-animating with anger, "What's wrong with wanting to take down the people who killed my dad!?" he shouted and Steven looked down at him with pitying eyes.

"Brendan, go home to Twinleaf Town. You're safe with Birch and your mother. I understand you want revenge but Norman wouldn't want you fight."

Brendan clenched his fists. He wanted to yell at Steven more but after seeing the champion battle he managed to restrain himself. Steven handed Brendan a pokéball which contained his now-healed Swellow. Brendan obediently took it and his Swellow appeared besides him.

The two flew off and Phoebe turned to Steven, "If they're going to press further I think we should too. We need to stop all this pointless destruction as soon as we can and I believe we can."

Roxanne noticed Phoebe looking distractedly in the direction of Twinleaf Town and found that she agreed with Phoebe for one of the first times since the war started. She wouldn't have forgiven herself if Brendan had died and that situation shouldn't have the chance to happen again.

* * *

The people from Vermillion City had decided to rest up in Cianwood City for a short while before going back for look-out on the border. Clair was happy with the way they'd made a valuable impression to Steven by the way how they'd landed and managed to damage their headquarters but there was a feeling of disappointment since it was still standing while theirs was rubble.

With no reason to defend the Indigo Plateau the elite four spent the majority of their time in Cianwood City, defending it along with Chuck and the people already there.

Clair directed the forces with a lot more determination and focus than Lance but people attributed that to her desire for revenge on Drake who'd been avoiding joining attacks lately.

Because of the attack on Hoenn they'd been expecting an attack soon and they were not disappointed by any means.

"I saw their entire elite four, Fortree and Sootopolis." Bruno reported as he and Koga raced back to Cianwood.

"Even Phoebe?" Clair asked and Koga confirmed it. Clair looked at the horizon and another thought occurred to her, "And Drake?" Bruno asserted that facts and Clair turned off the pokégear before turning back to Chuck.

"Phoebe? I thought she wasn't into fighting." he wondered, having overheard the conversation.

Clair shrugged, "All that matters is that there's going to be a large attack which we need to prepare for."

Chuck nodded then lightly punched Clair's shoulder in a reassuring way, "He'd be proud." he ran off to inform the others waiting down the hill in Cianwood.

Clair threw out her dragonite. It bore a determined expression and was staring into the distance, anticipating a battle. They came like a swarm from the distance and Clair was there to meet them.

It was an elite four versus an elite four and the battle was as intense as you'd imagine. The shockwaves from the collisions blew back all the surrounding trainers and the safari zone was almost completely destroyed in one blast from the battle with Clair and Drake.

She was determined to destroy him and the thought of someone actually trying to _kill_ him was actually beginning to scare Drake a bit. He'd already accepted the fact that he could die when he joined the fighting but seeing Clair made that reality a lot more believable but he didn't let his fear get in the way of the battle.

They'd already lost a Pokémon each and their fury showed no sign of relenting. They'd landed in the swamp zone so Kingdra had the chance to fight.

"Hydro pump!" she yelled and water shot at Drake and Flygon with the power of a fire hose. The two were blasted off their feet and it was only because of Flygon flying in front of him that he survived. Kingdra had shot again with dragon pulse but instead of striking Drake it had caught Flygon and sent it crashing into the mud besides its trainer.

Now they were both unprotected. Clair ordered another dragon pulse but Kingdra had to rapidly change targets to avoid being crushed by a massive block of jagged ice that had appeared out of thin air. Glalie came into the battle with its trainer, Glacia, behind it.

"Stay out of this Glacia!" Clair growled and a hydro pump flew towards them.

Glacia remained cool-headed yet angry as she commanded Glalie to use protect. The water crashed into the shield and dispersed quickly, "I never thought Kahto would have to rely on a weak gym leader to lead it but with people like Karen and Will in your elite four it shouldn't really come as a surprise." With the last sentence she threw out her hand and Glalie sent a block of not fully formed ice in Kingda's direction.

"Dragon pulse!" Clair called and but the attack passed through freeze-dry and was easily dodged by Glalie. Clair cried out as Kingdra seized up from the attack and was thrown backwards.

"Heat..." she started, reaching for altaria's pokéball but then she remembered she no longer had it. This lapse was long enough for Glalie to shoot ice shards at Clair herself. Determination flooded her, she would _not_ die that day. She jumped back and pulled out her whip in a fluid combination, bringing the heavy end down on any further flying icicles.

"Aqua tail! Hydro pump!" Clair yelled, throwing out Garchomp. The beached Kingdra blasted Glacia from behind and Garchomp swung its tail around so the water smashed into Glalie. The Pokémon and trainer slammed into each other and Glacia cried out. They both fainted and Clair turned her attention back to Drake.

Clair returned her beached Pokémon and ordered Garchomp to use earthquake but then Haxorus tackled it, stopping its attack. Clair looked back and gritted her teeth angrily, Drake had got back to his feet.

"Dragon claw!" he commanded.

"Dual chop!" Clair countered and the two dragons became locked in fierce claw-to-claw combat.

"Earthquake!" the two dragon masters yelled in unison and the ground trembled furiously. The fissures shot at each of the dragons and knocked them both off their feet. But Clair couldn't wait for Garchomp to recover. She hurled Druddigon's pokéball into the air and Drake's altaria flew in front of its trainer just as the large, red faced dragon was charging at Drake with superpower.

Druddigon hurled Altaria into Drake but he called an attack. Altaria's momentum was cancelled out by the power of aerial ace and it shot at Druddigon.

"Rock slide! Dragon tail!" Clair shouted and her two Pokémon sprinted at Altaria.

"Cotton guard!" Drake yelled and Altaria's cloud-like feathers expanded, creating a ball of soft looking cotton around it. It didn't look like much but when Druddigon's tail slammed into it the blow was completely absorbed.

"Dodge! Then use moon blast!" Drake commanded and the sphere of cotton darted upwards before shooting the ball of light at Garchomp from above. The impact drove Garchomp into the earth but Clair wasn't giving up that easily.

"Rock slide!" she ordered and Garchomp chucked a mass of rocks from the ground beneath him in Drake's direction.

"Dragon pulse!" Drake cried and the rocks shattered in front of him. He pointed to Garchomp and the jet of energy shot at the trapped Garchomp. The impact blasted it out of the hole but also fainted Garchomp. Clair recalled Garchomp without a look back and ordered for Druddigon to charge.

"Cotton guard again!" Altaria's feathers poofed up again but Clair made a point never to fall for the same trick twice.

"Glare!" she yelled and Druddigon's eyes began to glow, becoming equally terrifying and irresistible. Altaria was forced to look and when it did it seized up with paralysis. Altaria fell to the ground and that's when Druddigon brought its dragon tail around. Altaria flew across the safari zone like a baseball and crashed into the marshy ground. The damage would have been more severe if it had been any other zone than the swamp but it was still enough to knock it unconscious.

Drake had no Pokémon left. He and Clair had fought for a while before landing in the safari zone. Dread loomed over him and opportunity filled Clair with unrivalled fury. Her mind was flooded with memories of Lance and most painfully, the memory of Lola bringing his body back to Blackthorn City.

"Superpower!" she shouted and Druddigon charged, its feet pounding on the ground in perfect unison with Clair's heart.

Chuck hadn't faced a battle like this in ages. He and Poliwrath were almost completely surrounded but fighting together nonetheless. Bruno was fighting some Pokémon from Hoenn a few metres away from him but Chuck found no reason to call for help. He was doing fine.

When there were so many targets it was hard to direct Poliwrath all the time so it was just alternating between hypnosis and focus punch to push the people back. Poliwrath was trying to take the Pokémon while Chuck fought the people but there were several occasions where they had to fight the wrong attackers but throughout the battle Chuck was thanking the extra training regime he'd started after having that Ethan kid beat him.

But he wasn't unscathed. He was bruised all over and was bleeding in several places thanks to some certain Pokémon's attacks but he kept fighting. He just kicked back a mightyena when all of a sudden a fissure quickly snaked through the earth, knocking people of its way until it reached Chuck and stopped.

A tall, muscular man with long bedraggled black hair charged through the opening and Chuck smirked, "Lung! 'Bout time you joined the fight!"

Lung's primape used focus punch on an approaching vigoroth, blasting it away, "Ha ha old man!"

Chuck balled up his fists, "We'll see who's old!" he challenged and now as a four they began beating back the attackers.

"Night slash!" called a female voice and a nearby honchkrow swooped down, narrowly missing Chuck and sending up a spray of rocks.

Winona was riding her altaria but since all but one of its attacks weren't offensive she had to use Honchkrow to fight Chuck.

Chuck glanced upwards at the attacker and looked to Poliwrath, "Use waterfall!" Poliwrath shot up, being supported by the sudden jets of water, and smashed into Honchkrow. Honchkrow eventually gained control and darted back down to Poliwrath's altitude.

"Brave bird!" Winona commanded. Poliwrath saw that Chuck was occupied so fought on its own volition. It pulled back its glowing fist and swung at the attacking Honchkrow but there wasn't even a doubt about the outcome. Poliwrath was hurled into the cliff face by brave bird and Chuck cried out then roared angrily.

"Hitmonchan!" he yelled, throwing out the Pokémon, "Mach punch!"

Hitmonchan bent its knees and pulled back its padded red fist before driving it and itself upwards. The force of mach punch combined with its jump sent it flying into the big boss Pokémon. There was a moment of calm floating before the momentum gave way to gravity and in that time Hitmonchan prepared another blow, thunder punch this time. Its boxing glove-like fists sparked glowed with electricity and Hitmonchan brought them down on the dark-type bird only to have Pelipper shoot it in the back with ice beam. Hitmonchan fell to the ground and Chuck yelled angrily again.

"I got it!" Lung offered and his primape shot rocks at the flying-types on his trainer's command. Winona's Pokémon darted away to dodge the attack and while they were looking at that fight a shockwave hurled both the trainers into a cliff.

Chuck sank to the floor but got stubbornly back to his feet. He looked back to Lung and sighed in relief at the sight of him breathing. He was _not_ going to let a friend die on his watch. He helped the trainer to his feet then he wearily scanned the battlefield and saw an absol leaping into the air, its horn glowing with power.

Chuck shoved the weak Lung out of its way and they crashed into the ground, "Mach punch!" Chuck shouted and Hitmonchan surged forwards. Its fist connected with Absol but the attack wasn't enough to knock it out straight away. Sidney had joined the battle and Chuck's rage grew.

Tropius' air slash and Absol's psycho cut struck at the same time. Chuck yelled in pain and smashed back into the ground but once again forced himself to stand up. _As long as I'm still breathing Hoenn won't get Cianwood _City! he thought determinedly and he ran at Sidney, yelling for Hitmonchan to deal with Winona.

He rammed his fist into Sidney's chest and the elite crashed to the ground only to have Absol blast away Chuck again. Chuck clutched his side as he was getting back to his feet but when he brought the hand back it was covered in blood. He recoiled slightly at the sight but then he remembered all those days he spent underneath the waterfall and jogging for hours without any breaks. If he could weather that then why shouldn't he weather this?

"Close combat!" he yelled, hurling a pokéball into the air. The pokéball was thrown spinning and the Pokémon came out likewise. Hitmontop span in the air on its way to Absol and struck the same way. Absol was bombarded with continuous blows until Hitmontop lost its momentum and broke apart from the close combat.

Absol was breathing heavily and looked close to fainting but was glaring at Chuck with hatred akin to Sidney's, "Psycho cut!" Sidney yelled and it whirled its head around, shooting a blast of psychic energy at Hitmontop who rolled out of the way.

There was a crash and Winona fell off her altaria, colliding with the dirt and having the breath knocked out of her.

Clair swooped down riding a charizard and Chuck sneered at Sidney. So far the Hoenn elite had had problems picturing Clair as the champion of Kahto but in that moment Sidney's doubts faded. She looked so powerful and terrifying atop the flame Pokémon that Sidney couldn't help but think of her as Lance's successor. But she was fighting Winona, not him, so Sidney tried to put her out of his mind as Winona shot back into the air.

"Slash!" he called and Hitmontop intentionally rolled into the attack's path, not wanting this trainer to get more injured than he already was.

"Use bullet punch!" Chuck yelled and Hitmontop dashed towards Absol who was once again unable to avoid the speed and frequency of the Pokémon's blows. The final punch hit Absol's face and sent it sprawling across the dirt.

Sidney clenched his teeth together and recalled Absol. Chuck felt the sense of victory lighten his heart a bit but he still felt so heavy from all his injuries that weren't getting any better as the fight went on.

"Mandibuzz! Use bone rush!" Sidney ordered and his Pokémon sprang out of the pokéball ready to attack. Hitmontop leapt into the air, kicking and punching back the bones of earth as they shot forwards. Sidney was becoming frustrated from the constant blocking but reasoned that Hitmontop would be getting weaker from each close combat it used.

"Brave bird!" Mandibuzz flew up and began glowing with energy that looked like an unflickering flame. It dived down to Hitmontop an entity of power but Hitmontop just braced. It would not let them touch Chuck.

Sidney's eyes widened in surprise as Hitmontop _didn't_ go flying after Mandibuzz's brave bird. Instead it actually held onto the bird and merely skidded across the dirt. Sidney threw out another Pokémon and Absol burst out again.

Chuck looked at the second Absol with confusion. He tried thinking of reasons but then realised that his thoughts were scarily beginning to blur, "Drill run!" he yelled regardless and Hitmontop rushed to the new absol spinning like a drill.

"Night slash!" Sidney commanded and Hitmontop cleverly used its own spinning to dance around the dark energy. It realised too late how stupid it was. Hitmontop collided with Zoroark, shattering the illusion and sending the Pokémon flying but it heard the crash of an attack landing.

It wheeled around and its face fell in horror. As more and more people found themselves facing that direction more and more people froze. A heavy silence filled with unsureness fell over the people as the Kahto trainers became more and more confused. The person they were fighting for...his chest and back were caked in blood that stained the earth around him and his eyes were open but not looking at anything.

Lung, Primape and Hitmontop were staring as the thoughts in their heads ran around as if in a washing machine. Lung's fists clenched and his cries broke the silence. No-one knew what to think, especially those from Kahto. They were cries of battle.

He punched the air and glared at Sidney, "FOR CHUCK!" he cried and there was the single second of silence it took for people to process it. 'For Chuck' echoed throughout the battlefield, riling up the Kahto people and Clair, who was hovering above the city, joined in.

"Hyper beam!" she roared and a blast of power shot into the Hoenn forces. Then the battle started again with an explosive start. With renewed anger. Sidney had to grab onto Mandibuzz and fly up to avoid being destroyed there and then. His face had been consumed by hopelessness. _Chuck_...he thought, _If your death didn't end this...what will_?

* * *

**R.I.P. Chuck - His roaring fists do (_did?) the talking_**

* * *

**_What happens now? Chuck's death only made him a martyr so will there be any way to end this war? (This is a prequel so you know but still...)_**

**_I hope you enjoyed this chapter and if you did or didn't please review with any comments, reviews or suggestions for the series so it can be the best fic it can be! :D_**


	15. Chapter 15

The battle raged below Winona but Sidney was a big enough distraction to allow her one call. Her pokénav was held with shaky hands, Winona still couldn't believe what she'd just seen and, from the reaction she heard, neither could Roxanne.

"His death has accomplished nothing." Winona explained with a tone equally hopeless and furious.

Roxanne growled, "I expected as much. We have no choice. Steven says that utter destruction isn't the way but it's the only way out I can see. That or mutual obliteration."

Winona nodded in understanding, "What plans do you have?" she asked.

"It'll take about fifteen minutes to get to Sootopolis. Where's Wallace?"

Winona quickly scanned the Cianwood Island and spotted what she believed to be a milotic, "He's here on the northeast coast. What should I do while you're flying there?"

Roxanne was silent for a moment, "You'll have to continue fighting for ten minutes but once that time elapses I need you to call a retreat. Say the order was from Steven then fly as fast as you can away from Kahto."

There was a small beep which signalled the end of the call and Winona glanced back to the fight, her face beginning to screw up with rage. _The fools_, she thought scathingly, _Now you've left us no choice. But your pride was always going to be your downfall_.

She had no choice but to dive back down to the battle. She silently chanted a prayer to the sky that she would survive the ten minutes Roxanne took. She had faith but faith often wavered when confronted with powerful fools which nothing left to lose yet nothing left to gain.

Winona's iconic winged helmet was designed to block out her altaria's song so she could continue riding without falling asleep herself. Altaria darted around the sky, her haunting melody sending numerous battlers to sleep but her rider grew happier with every minute that passed. To think, that within that hour the war would be over and Hoenn would be the victor.

Her pokénav buzzed gently in alarm and Winona opened her pokénav quickly as Altaria soared to a safe altitude. Winona pressed the group call button and selected all the trainers she knew were present. It took a while but soon the majority of them picked up their own pokénavs, their voices ringing out confusion.

"Steven is ordering an immediate retreat." Winona explained and there were immediate outbursts, "He's been informed of Chuck's death and asserts that there is no point in endlessly tiring ourselves presently. The death of Cianwood's leader did nothing so we need to reconvene and heal in Hoenn. Gather all the Hoenn trainers while you can and leave." she ordered and smiled when she heard the people consenting.

From her bird's eye view of the Cianwood Island she saw people stirring. People were getting onto flying or water types. Winona waited for about half a minute to make sure the Hoenn forces were indeed moving before shooting off herself.

* * *

Wallace was mounting his sharpedo, it was faster than Milotic and he was being fired at, when he got another call on his pokénav. Confused, he picked it up and found it was one of the Sootopolitans. Wallace told his sharpedo to continue swimming as they spoke.

The old man's breath was ragged and he was speaking in a panicked fashion, "Wallace! Cave...Cave of...of..."

"Speak calmer." Wallace instructed. He heard the breath become steadier and then told the man to continue.

"Someone fought their way into the Cave of Origin and I think they're trying to summon Groudon and Kyogre!"

Wallace almost fell of his Pokémon in shock and cried out in terror, "What!? How did they overpower you?"

"S-she was a gym leader!" the sootopolitan stuttered and Wallace's expression of confused horror furthered.

"Do you know who it was?"

The man's voice failed him on the first try but then on the second attempt he spoke the words that shattered the earth for Wallace, "The rock-type girl, Roxanne."

"What is she up to?" Wallace thought aloud and when the answer came to mind it was all he could do not to scream, "Kahto!" he cried.

He switched off his pokénav and ordered Sharpedo to change directions. His mind raced and his heart was being clawed at by the despair that hadn't even occurred yet. He couldn't save them all on his own. Wallace looked around but saw no-one else from Hoenn nearby. Sharpedo shot towards Olivine City sensing the urgency. If Roxanne had already broken into the Cave of Origin then he didn't any time at all.

There was a wall that completely surrounded Olivine City, so only the lighthouse could be seen. Wallace rapped on the white bricks and waited anxiously. There was a pneumatic hiss and a human-sized section of the wall swung open. Wallace sighed in relief as Jasmine was waiting for him outside the wall.

"Good d-" she started but Wallace didn't let her finish.

"Jasmine, evacuate the city! You must get everyone out of Kahto before it's too late!" he cried and Jasmine's eyes widened in fear. She and Wallace ran inside the city boundaries and sprinted to the first floor of the lighthouse where there was a speaker system.

"Everybody in Olivine City, this is Wallace." he announced into the microphone. His voice rang out through the speakers and was heard throughout the city, "You must get on a Pokémon that can fly or swim immediately and head away from Johto. There is an imminent danger coming to Kahto so you must evacuate!"

Jasmine gasped and the city erupted into panic. Jasmine went outside with her Magneton and Skamory while Wallace supplied his Milotic, Sharpedo, Walrein, Swampert and Starmie. Soon everyone was set up with some means of transportation but Wallace was rushing everybody so much that he wasn't answering any questions.

He only started to give any answers once they were past the border, "Hoenn is going to summon the monstrosities, Groudon and Kyogre, and release them on Kanto and Johto."

Jasmine clasped her hand over her mouth and looked sadly at Wallace. She didn't bother trying to deny it. She completely trusted Wallace was telling the truth. He wouldn't have evacuated Olivine or looked so distressed unless it was true.

* * *

Clair was pacing the Safari Zone cliff, her mind consuming itself with the thoughts of Lance, Chuck and Drake. _Why don't I feel any better_? she asked herself, _Why do I feel...worse_? But while her emotions jumbled around, her brain was trying to make sense of things. Hoenn's retreat had been odd to say the least. Why did they wait ten minutes after Chuck died?

Clair automatically got out her whip as a humongous sound of roaring winds and crashing waves suddenly obliterated Clair's eardrums. Her eyes snapped towards the source of the sound and saw massive funnels of swirling water shoot into the sky one by one, each coming with a giant burst of noise, until they were forming some sort of wall around the border.

Bruno ran up to her, having heard the crashing, and stopped in his tracks.

"What the hell are they up to?" Clair muttered to herself. Clair clenched her whip anxiously but then her pokégear started buzzing and she flipped open the device.

"You'll have to shout!" she instructed, the noise drowning out the other voice, "Something weird's happening with the weather. I can't hear you!"

"Evacuate Kahto!" the voice ordered powerfully.

"Rowan?" Clair asked incredulously. There'd been no contact with any other regions for almost a year.

"You must evacuate Kahto this instance! Groudon and Kyogre are on their way. Get the hell out of there!"

Clair looked from the pokégear to the strange wall of weather then back, "That...might be impossible." She couldn't hide her hear as the realisation dawned on her, "There's a strange storm tracing the border."

Rowan breathed a swear in horror, "Then prepare yourselves! We'll try to send aid as soon as the legendaries become dormant once more."

Clair gritted her teeth, "No. These are internal Kahto matters. Focus on Hoenn, get them behind bars and leave our regions to us."

Rowan considered protesting but understood her line of thinking, "Sinnoh, Unova and Kalos are going after them as we speak...Good luck." The device turned off and Clair spared one glance at the horizon before sprinting off, yelling orders and warnings.

All hell was about to break loose and Clair had no idea how she was going to deal with it. Fighting the legendaries wasn't an option at all; the most they could do was brace themselves and try to minimize the amount of deaths.

* * *

Professor Rowan and Professor Sycamore were trading theories about Pokémon evolution and mega evolution when Professor Brich started calling. Sycomore looked unsurely at Rowan before clicking the 'accept call' button.

"Birch? I thought you agreed that our regions were going to be neutral during the conflict." said Sycamore, he hadn't noticed how terrified the Hoenn researcher looked.

"You-you've got to help Kahto! Gr-groudon a-and..."

Sycamore looked at his colleague with a shocked expression while Rowan remained as calm and powerful as ever, "Calm down man." he ordered but Birch was sill breathing heavily.

"Someone's summonded Groudon and Kyogre and they're on the way to Kahto!" Birch yelled and Sycamore almost fell out of his chair in sheer terror.

Rowan stood up and took out his pokégear while Sycamore continued to press Birch for more information, "How long do they have?"

Birch's hand was shaking in fear, "Not long. Only as long as it takes them to get to Kahto."

"Have you told Elm or Oak?" he asked and Birch nodded.

"We didn't talk for long. They're already trying to prepare."

Sycamore nodded and Rowan finished his conversation with Clair. He looked regretfully to Professor Birch. He didn't say anything yet but the other researchers saw him start contacting someone else, "Hoenn has summoned Groudon and Kyogre and is in the process of using their power to destroy Kahto. But Clair has instructed us not to send aid, but to arrest the responsible parties."

Birch's irises shrank in worry but Rowan continued talking with Cynthia, "I'll get the other regions to help." she said and Rowan's line cut off from the other two.

Sycamore looked to Professor Birch, "This is going to be a dark day for the world."

* * *

The tremors caused by their awakening were heard throughout Hoenn and certainly wasn't missed by Steven. He'd been there when Maxie and Archie had summoned them before and he was there when Roxanne and her aerodactyl landed outside the Hoenn League Headquarters.

"What did you do, Roxanne!?" he demanded and Roxanne crossed her arms defiantly.

"I ended the war. Chuck only became a martyr so I was forced to take drastic measures. This is the only way to win without a pyrrhic victory where we're both destroyed."

"And this way won't be? This used to be a Hoenn/Kahto conflict but there's no chance the other regions will sit idly by while two entire regions are destroyed!" Steven turned away and threw out his skarmory, preparing to go and warn Kahto. He was about to mount when another Pokémon swiftly landed next to them.

"Winona..." Steven's eyes narrowed, "What did you do?"

"The sky sealed the Kahto devils inside their own misery. The everstorm will make sure they will not escape their punishment."

Steven couldn't believe it. He stopped trying to mount Skarmory. It was pointless now. Instead he pulled out his own pokénav and called Cynthia. Roxanne and Winona couldn't hear the other side of the conversation but Steven's words rang out loud and clear.

"This is Steven...The war is over. Hoenn surrenders to the Indigo League...Groudon and Kyogre have been summoned and are headed to Kahto...I accept my punishment but you must know there's an everstorm there."

He was silent as Cynthia spoke to him then he turned off the device and turned to see Winona and Roxanne's expressions of disgust.

Winona glared at Steven, "You won't be able to catch the wind." she taunted and before either of the other two trainers could react, Winona had already sped off.

Steven met Roxanne's eyes and saw utter contempt, "I won't let you leave." He said firmly and Roxanne's anger rose. Their entire region had been on the line and Steven had been going to let it be destroyed.

There was a sharp crack as Roxanne's hand crashed into the side of Steven's face. His eyes widened in shock then met Roxanne's with pure rage.

"This war's going to end the same way it started." Roxanne spat, "With you knocked to the dirt and being too cowardly to do anything about it!"

Steven stepped backwards to his Skarmory's side but didn't break eye contact with Roxanne for a single moment. Roxanne stepped to behind her aerodactyl and the air began sparking with tension. Roxanne would admit that challenging the champion after having to fight her way through a group of Sootopolitans wasn't a wise move but Steven's foolishness had angered her past the point of reason.

They were about to call out their Pokémon's attacks when all of a sudden pain shot through both their bodies, forcing them to seize up and stop moving. Steven's confusion dissipated as Cynthia and her togekiss descended from the sky, looking terrifying and furious.

She stepped off her Pokémon and glared at Steven, "I have orders to take you in, Steven." she looked offhandedly back at the gym leader, "But I suppose I'll save Wake the time and arrest you as well, Roxanne. You both have committed grave crimes against _two_ regions which cannot be excused, even by war." she sighed and looked Steven in the eyes, "Do you want to come with peacefully or do I have to paralyse you?"

Steven would have hung his head if he could've moved, "I accept any punishment that's given to me but what of Kanto and Johto?"

Cynthia's expression became sad, "There's no way to stop Groudon and Kyogre once they've been summoned. All we can do is wait until they become dormant then we'll send aid."

"I'm afraid that won't be possible." Cynthia wheeled round on Roxanne and ordered her to elaborate, "Winona used the power of Rayquaza to create an Everstorm that surrounds Kahto. No-one can reach them now."

Cynthia's face fell in shock but somehow became more furious simultaneously, "Where's Winona!?" she demanded.

"Winona flew away a few minutes ago." Steven explained. Cynthia took out a slightly modified pokégear.

"Wake, get over to Ever Grande City and escort Steven and Roxanne for me but put everyone on high alert. Winona's attempting to evade arrest and there's an Everstorm surrounding Kahto."

* * *

**Happy 15th Chapter! :D (But considering the content of the chapter I doubt that 'happy' is the right word) I'm so thankful to all of you who's been reading my fic! :D**

**Now all hell is about to break loose and the world won't recover for a very long time...**

**I hope you enjoyed this chapter and please review with any comments, questions or suggestions for the series so it can improve for you guys! :D**


	16. Chapter 16

Wallace helped Jasmine off his Milotic but noticed that she kept looking back nervously. Wallace was about to say 'It'll be all right' but he of all people knew that wasn't true. All the people from Olivine had already dismounted the Pokémon and started looking around in a confused manner.

Wallace frowned to himself. How would he explain it to them that their entire region was going to be destroyed? He'd mentioned an imminent danger and explained the problem to Jasmine but having to break the news to over forty seven people that in less than an hour a lot of people they knew could be dead.

Everyone's eyes were on him, the one who'd brought them to Sootopolis, but when he was about to open his mouth it clamped shut involuntarily, his body seized up and he froze. Jasmine looked at him concernedly but then it started to clear up when Elesa appeared with her emolga, looking furious.

"Elesa?" Jasmine wondered but the shining beauty's attention was solely directed at the paralysed Wallace.

"Wallace, you are under arrest for the destruction of Kanto and Johto." Elesa said formally but she walked up to him in an odd manner, like she was forcing every step, "I hope you decide peacefully because I don't want to have to restrain you."

The crowd began muttering in confusion but Elesa tried to ignore it. Emolga squeaked a sigh and Wallace unfroze. He looked regretfully at Jasmine before standing up straight and raising his hands in a gesture of peace.

"I won't resist." Wallace said and Elesa looked like she was about to leave with him.

"Wait! He wasn't a part of it, he _saved_ us!" Jasmine protested but Elesa just looked at her pityingly.

"I'm sorry Jasmine but I don't have a choice. My orders were unanimous from _all_ the champions and I refuse to let such a crime go punished." she explained.

"But he..."

"Jasmine, don't." said Wallace sadly and took Jasmine's hands, placing something in them, "I'll be fine but...can you look after Sootopolis until I come back?"

Tears began clouding Jasmine's eyes, "O-of course but..."

Wallace grinned at her then looked to Elesa, "We can go now."

Elesa nodded and the two flew off as a solemn cloud fell over Sootopolis City. The people's eyes were either locked on the sky or Jasmine but then what Elesa just said began sinking in.

Preston, a lovely gentleman who worked at the Olivine Gym and the Glitter Lighthouse, was the first to break the rhythmic sounds of the ocean rolling into the rock wall around Sootopolis, "Johto was destroyed?" he asked unsurely and Jasmine quickly wiped her face before turning to the crowd.

"Hoenn...Some people who were fighting..." Jasmine kept having to pause so she could gulp down her tears, "They resorted to drastic measures...Which were Groundon and Kyogre." The crowd's shock was immediate, "A-and that's why we had to evacuate."

The people erupted into cries and shouts but for a moment all Jasmine heard was white noise. She held her cupped hands close to her face and saw what Wallace had given her. It was small thin and metal with a little pin on the undecorated side. There were three little raindrop shapes that made a pyramid with the bottom left one being inset with a small but beautiful blue gem.

* * *

The door to the room burst open and Winona was shoved inside by Cynthia and Grant. Winona stumbled but then wheeled around, about to yell something or fight back but then her paralysis kicked in again and she stopped, frozen in place.

The room was actually Sidney's battlefield, the first one in the series, but he wasn't the only one present. Crasher Wake and Flint from Sinnoh, Elesa and Marshal from Unova and Valerie from Kalos had been guarding the six Hoenn trainers. The room was silent. Mainly because of the tension but also because of the several restraints used that prevented talking.

It was easy to guess who'd come their of their own free will and who'd resisted because while Wallace, Phoebe and Steven had slight movements as they stood Roxanne, Sidney and Glacia were standing as rigid as metal and barely even breathing.

Cynthia began pacing slowly, making eye contact with each Hoenn League member as she did so, and Steven looked from side to side. A year ago there'd been fourteen trainers in the Hoenn League but there were only seven people standing before the Sinnoh Champion.

"It was mass destruction of _two_ entire regions. No matter what your relations were we can't ignore it." her voice was steely and enraged, "No matter the consequences you all would have been sentenced to life but the scenario has changed. Everyone in Kahto is trapped like ratattas and it is now impossible to save them. You are _all_ being held accountable and your punishments have come from Clair herself." There was a muffled scream and those who could gasped. Their lives were in the hands of a woman who'd killed a man for revenge mere hours ago, "Which is life without parole. You will never see the sun again."

The assurance of their lives wasn't enough to quell the sudden anger and terror expressed by the Hoenn trainers. Sidney wanted to yell but his muscles felt as inflexible as stone. 'How can I be tried of a crime I hadn't even been aware of!?' he wanted to shout but he was utterly powerless. Utterly hopeless.

"What of Hoenn?" Steven asked anxiously but Cynthia's eyes were unsympathetic.

"Brawly, Watson, Tate, Liza and Flannery will resume their posts..."

"Flannery's alive?" Wallace interrupted with a breath of relief but Cynthia's glare silenced him instantly.

"She and Brawly have been working in Veilstone City. I made a point to be aware of any activity that could threaten our neutrality but I came to the conclusion that she wasn't a threat." Cynthia looked away from Wallace and continued addressing the entire room, "Then any trainers already associated with the gyms can take leadership."

Phoebe shifted her weight nervously from side to side before speaking up fearfully, "And Kahto?"

Cynthia sighed and her expression fell, "All we can do is pray."

* * *

Red's brown hair used to be fairly short but after nearly a year of wilderness training in the Sinnoh Mountains it reached his shoulders and was choppily cut from his lazy attempts at managing it. His red and white cap was becoming too small for him and was put on backwards but it wasn't as if Red had ever been obsessed about his appearance.

With Pikachu strolling next to him and the promise of healing his other Pokémon in mind he couldn't repress the content smile on his face. Sunnyshore City was in sight as the pleasant sun was on his face.

The city was unusual in the amount of technology incorporated into it but Red was looking forward to giving his weary Pokémon a rest and relaxing on a ship on his way home.

He walked into the Pokémon centre and exchanged quick small talk with the attendant before placing the pokéballs back in his bag. Red happily walked up to the port and took out his wallet as he did so. While he was fumbling with the coins and notes he noticed something caught in the zip. Red carefully unhooked it and smiled. It was a picture of his and Blue in Pallet Town. Red chuckled at how young they both looked and looked fondly back on the memory.

There was a cheery woman at the port directing people to the appropriate ships or informing them about delays. Her strawberry blonde bob was shaped and her uniform was neat and blue. She was greeting everyone with a big grin and Red was no different.

"Good afternoon and welcome to Sunnyshore Port. What's your intended destination?" asked the woman happily.

Red smiled back, "A one way trip to Kahto please." The woman's smile shrank and she looked at Red with a confused face. Red didn't know what to make of it so he tried elaborating, "I'm going to Kanto but if you can only get to Johto…"

"No sir, it's just that Sinnoh isn't allowing any travel to Kanto or Johto at the moment." she explained sadly.

"What!? Why not?" Red exclaimed and the woman's face fell.

"Where have you been for the past year?" she wondered, her voice a blend of confusion and curiosity.

Red started looking confused as well. He gestured vaguely behind him, "I've been training in the mountains for a long time."

The woman looked Red in the eyes, "There is a war between Kahto and Hoenn. No travel to any of those regions is permitted in case it upsets our neutrality."

"What!?" Red's loud cry caused many passer-bys to stop and stare at him but that was the bottom of his list of worries, "You _need_ to let me go! I'm their champion!"

The woman's gaze became slightly sceptical but Red often encountered that. The problem with being a non-active champion meant that barely anyone overseas knew his name, "I'm terribly sorry sir." she said, clearly finishing the conversation. Red clenched his fists and looked around in a lost fashion. He couldn't just go on with business now he'd heard _that_. Red shifted his weight a few times while his mind when through his options. None of them were perfect but at least one of them would get him to Kahto unhindered.

He walked back to the Pokémon centre in a somewhat defeated mood but after dealing with the PC Red was ready. He felt the woman watching him as he re-entered the Sunnyshore port and heard her yelp as Articuno burst out with a bright flash.

Worried about an attack, she threw out a Lopunny but Red had already mounted the powerful flying-type and had shot off. Nothing could have caught him in time now.

The winds were so cold that they hurt him as if his red jacket didn't even exist. Articuno radiated cold just as Moltres would radiate heat and Zapdos would power. It made it a fearful Pokémon to face in battle but was awful to ride, like riding a more flexible block of ice. If only Red had taken Charizard instead but it wasn't fast enough to evade other flying-types.

The trip from Sinnoh was long and boring but Red had eventually become used to flying for long stretches of time on his journeys across the regions. After returning home for a spell he'd been thinking about doing some training in Kalos but that had all leaked out of his head and had been replaced with the new horrifying information.

_War_..._I'm their champion and I didn't even know we were at war_...Red was horrified that he hadn't known but his questions were rolling furiously around his mind.

After hours they finally reached the Kahto border and it was then when Articuno lurched forwards. Red had to hold a hand to his hat to keep it from flying off as he was suddenly deafened and confronted by the tightly placed, swirling pillars of wind and water. Articuno shrieked and looked as worried as Red, it was a guardian legendary after all.

Articuno had to dart backwards to avoid being sucked into the storm and they hovered there, staring, for a good minute as they both tried understanding what in the world was going on. All he knew was that Kahto, _his_ region, was on the other side and in danger.

If Red had a regret it was the years he spent on Mount Silver. He'd been so down about how his journey had been over that he'd completely abandoned everything. That battle with Ethan had convinced him to get back to his feet but by then things had changed without him and now it had happened again.

Red looked down determinedly at Articuno and Articuno twisted its neck in an attempt to look Red in the eyes but that was psychically impossible so it looked to the right. Red patted Articuno and an unspoken conversation passed through them. The Everstorm was a feared thing of legend but then again...so was Articuno.

Red hugged Articuno's neck and lied down, trying not to disrupt Articuno's aerodynamics, and inhaled deeply. Articuno cawed a self-motivational screech and dove into the storm. Red held on tighter as his breath was ripped away from him and winds as powerful as raining hammers crashed into him, trying to tear him from his Pokémon. As Articuno expended more of its energy, the colder the air around in got so within seconds Red was drenched, bruised and practically frozen.

Each gust of wind pounded his head and with each pound unconsciousness came closer. Without Articuno he'd be dead but even atop the powerful bird of ice he felt that harsh reality become more possible. Articuno sensed the state of its trainer and urged itself to fly faster but the swirling nature of the Everstorm left it wondering whether it was even flying in the right direction. Red's fingers were now blue and the constant crashing air left them without feeling or strength.

It was becoming less and less possible for him as it went on and it was then it happened. A burst of wind smashed into his head and Red found in that moment that he no longer had to ability to hold on.

He shot into the funnel and blackness soon followed.

* * *

Time no longer meant anything to Falkner. Days, nights, in an underground cell they had no purpose. In sleep he was plagued by the same dream every night. A dream full of red ice. Even when he was awake he never thought of himself as such. It was a nightmare. It was all...a nightmare.

At first he'd been in shock. His best friends had personally doomed him. This fact had filled him to the brim with confusion but as he continued dwelling on it he soon became consumed with rage. His best friends had personally doomed him.

That day he hadn't moved from his bed, just like the day before, and his face was stuck in a seemingly permanent glare, shooting eye daggers at all the people he hated. But unlike the previous day the cell started shaking violently.

His blurring vision disorientated him but he managed to stumbled to the cold metal door and slam his fist on the reinforced window, "What the hell is going on!?" he growled but then the shaking grew in intensity until the world began jerking in every direction and forced him to fall to the floor.

Falkner tried getting back to his feet, the rage on his face growing with every second, but it was almost impossible. He was on all fours and glaring at the lurching floor but unable to move.

The crack sounded so much like a gunshot that he tried reaching for his own which, of course, wasn't there. He pushed himself to his feet but almost immediately collapsed onto his back. From his new perspective he believed he was seeing jets of water shooting down from the ceiling. He was about to question it further when another ear-splitting crack indicated the arrival of another. Tons of high pressure water smashed into his leg and Falkner yelled out in pain. The constant shaking was numbing every muscle in his body but he managed to force himself out of the jet's path.

He clutched his now drenched leg and tried sitting up only to have a blast smash him into the wall. The air was being driven from his lungs and Falkner realised with a terrified face that he was going to die. He was going to die without saving his father.

That determined it. There was no way he'd fail his father twice. He gasped for air and kicked the ground to escape from the jet. He was going to faint from the exhaustion and pain but his will forbade him from doing so. The tremors continued and the water spray had soaked his face, rendering his sight nothing but painful blurs, but he didn't need eyesight to realise the water was rising. Plans ran through his brain but none of them were feasible.

_I'm going to die_, he thought but then something occurred to him. The water was coming from outside. It's just the pressure that made it impossible. He'd have to wait for the pressure to equalise, for the water to reach the ceiling.

The salt water burned his eyes and his leg was immovable but his determination was unrivalled. He _would_ live. The water soon rose above his head when kneeling so Falkner had to get up. The shaking splashed the water into his gaping mouth and he began to choke. His breathing was ragged and hindered but he kept at it, not wavering for a moment until the water was over his head.

Swimming without the use of his right leg was almost impossible but he didn't stop going. Falkner swam as if he was dragging himself underwater but he was moving. Since his prison was under one of the Seafoam islands flooding had always been a hazard so his cell had been positioned under the ocean, not the earth.

Oxygen was fleeting and Falkner longed to inhale the air that just wasn't there. The surface was far away and the final sands of time had just fallen for him.

Darkness. He felt immeasurable pain in his chest as his lungs burned and his heart slowed. Fear shot through him but then suddenly so did energy.

His eyes jolted open and found a burst of light. Something shoved him to the surface and he gasped in the most relief he'd ever felt. He flailed wildly as the trembling ocean and injured leg threatened to take him under again but as sense flooded back to him with the oxygen he began looking around for whatever saved him. A chinchou was dashing away, battling against the current, and Falkner looked up to see a swarm of fleeing Pokémon.

Rain was falling like blocks of water onto his face but Falkner suddenly remembered something and he quickly brought his cupped up to his mouth but then had to break them apart to keep afloat. The Pokémon were quickly flying away along with his only hope for survival. Falkner kicked with his left leg so his was on his back but then a wave rolled over onto him. Once again he found himself flailing but managed to regain control faster than before. Falkner tried the whistle again and again, hoping that something would hear him.

The flock had almost completely passed but Falkner couldn't spare any more energy on calling them over. He relented. The water was violently battering him but he no longer had any choice about where the waves carried him.

Falkner's eyes closed exhaustedly and his leg slowly stopped mechanically wheeling to keep him floating. It felt like the water was rising again but something intervened. Talons pierced his shoulders and he was dragged upwards.

His eyes darted up and he saw a...a skamory! Its call was shrill and metallic but to Falkner there was no greater sound in the world. Skamory began expertly tipping from side to side. They were both drenched so Skarmory had to tighten its grip to stop him from slipping. Blood began to seep out of Falkner's shoulders but then he was thrown into the air. Skamory jerked downwards to catch the trainer and he was safely on the bird's back.

But then Falkner looked towards the horizon. From the shore the winds would have blended into that day's dreary sky but from where he was anyone could see the Everstorm for what it was. All of Falkner's joy became fury in a millisecond.

Kahto was trapped. _They_ were trapped. He found a sick grin join his glaring eyes. His head turned to the first place that sprang into his mind, Pallet Town. He indicated the place to Skarmory and it shot off with him on its back. _Oak had been the one who'd started everything_, Falkner thought, _So it makes sense that it's him that starts the end_.

* * *

**While things are going to s*** for the Hoenn League, Red and Falkner things are going to s*** in Kahto.**

**I hope you enjoyed this chapter and please review with any comments, suggestions or questions about the series! :D**


	17. Chapter 17

The earthquakes had finally stopped. The monsters had disappeared and the tides had receded but the pain had only just begun.

Nothing had stopped collapsing for over a day and Clair felt herself on the brink of falling but she couldn't even dare to stop. The heavy rain had left her soaked to the skin and freezing, she had a long, bleeding wound that ran from her shoulder to her wrist from where a piece of falling rubble had torn the skin and she could no longer run properly because one of her boots had broken. Clair would admit she's often selfish but she also had a strong sense of duty driving her forwards.

Dragonite's hyper beam blasted through the ruins of a building and the muffled cries were now heard in all their despair. There'd been so much death. More than the year of war in less than a day but she'd expected that much, every movement was flooded with anger but controlled by grief yet even emotions ran out eventually.

Her pokégear was a constant tremor on her wrist but she'd long since abandoned answering it. People were asking for help but her limits had already been met and then stretched further. She and the few people of Goldenrod City who could move helped another survivor out of the collapsed building, their face drenched in tears.

All the strength in Clair's wounded arm had seeped out so she was trying her best to do everything she could one-handed. It hung limp at her side while she opened her pokégear with her other. There was a line that was just kept open so any of the remaining league members could contact whoever was listening.

Clair could barely breathe but she kept her voice strong regardless, "If anyone's near Route 18 I need them to check up on Cinnabar Island and the Seafoam Islands. The last thing we need is escapees to deal with."

A cry of pain interrupted the line and Clair called out worriedly, "Don't worry." Koga assured, wincing and clutching his foot where a fallen roof tile had just hit, "Just a slate. I'll fly out as soon as I can."

"I'm already there, just be careful." Misty said and Clair put away the pokégear, running off to demolish another collapsed ceiling after hearing a strangled cry.

Misty was riding on her starmie, floating near one of the Seafoam Islands. When the flooding had struck she'd been travelling to Celadon City and so the underwater Seafoam Islands had been on her mind. She knew that she should be in Cerulean and saving her own people but at least she was saving Koga the effort and, though she knew it was selfish, she was glad to be away from all the destruction.

A day of chaos had passed and everything was already spiralling out of control. Entire cities had been demolished in one go and Cianwood had completely crumbled. Hoenn had surrendered, the war was over, but their problems were now astronomical in comparison.

Misty equipped her aqualung and clenched her eyes shut, preparing for the dive. Dive was protecting her from the pressure just as fly and surf prevented people from falling off so she was perfectly fine under all the water.

The light from Starmie's gem shrouded the submerged world underneath the surface. Chinchou and tentacool swam past her in agitated manners. Misty looked towards their source of worry and her face fell. With some small vain hope she'd expected the Everstorm not to reach underwater but the churning wall blocked any travel went swirling right down to the seabed. Misty tore her eyes away from the hopeless sight and instead scanned the water for the entrance.

Starmie slowly drifted closer to the island and as it did Misty began noticing more details about it. The aqualung in her mouth meant that she couldn't talk but she pointed to the jutting out block and Starmie sped forwards.

The wall was webbed with cracked and holes where the water would have poured in and Misty entered through the largest one in the ceiling.

Being underwater can be an eerie experience. Things were floating as if the place was devoid of gravity, the darkness and the lack of sound expect for your own heartbeat made you feel as if you were a ghost, something not of the world you saw.

It only took a quick look around the room to see that it was empty but that really wasn't what Misty was looking for. Pokémon were forbidden in any human prison you go to so trainers are always encouraged to pick up new hobbies which were apparent by the décor in their cell. Misty hoped that it would give her some idea of who'd been there but when she looked around she found it to be devoid of such things except for a desk.

Keeping one hand on Starmie to protect her from the pressure, she swam over to the desk and found a leather-bound notebook. She didn't dare open it there in case she ruined the paper so instead Misty tucked it into her white jacket and gestured for Starmie to return her to the surface.

Starmie turned around and shot towards the surface, being propelled by hydro pump, and soon they broke into the cold air.

She threw out her lapras and climbed aboard so she could safely open the journal. The little writing it contained was smudged and almost incomprehensible but it could have been must worse if it had been open when she'd found it underwater. There wasn't much written there, all there were only names. The first page had 'Father, Surge, Pryce, Lance' and a heavy sense of dread began filling Misty's mind. The second only had three names, 'Oak, Janine, Whitney' and as the book went on there were more and more. Misty noticed the handwriting deteriorate as the pages went on and more and more pressure being applied to words, as if the writer was getting increasingly angry. There could have been more logical conclusions to come to but Misty felt so much _hate_ in the words. She read her own name among a list of Kanto gym leaders and found that the entire Indigo League had been listed, all but one person.

She shut the book and looked towards land. Fuchsia City was nearby and run by Koga, he'd know what to do. Misty recalled Starmie and Lapras darted to the shore. Fuchsia City was on top of a low cliff so Lapras couldn't swim directly to it so instead it created a ramp using ice beam.

Misty leapt off Lapras onto the mud and returned her Pokémon. She half ran and half slid towards the centre of the city and began shouting for either Koga or Janine.

"Help!" she heard someone cry and Misty's head immediately snapped in that direction. Fuchsia was one of the smaller cities in Kanto so it didn't take the gym leader long to find the source.

Misty looked in horror as she ran over to a collapsed Pokémon centre and found someone with their leg trapped under a wall. He was a young man with light brown hair that was flattened from the almost constant rain they'd endured until that day and tears were streaming down his face.

"Oh my gosh!" Misty cried as she threw out Starmie and Blastoise. She sank to one knee and dug her hands under the rubble along with Blastoise while Starmie used psychic. The wall rose and Misty carefully dragged the man out of danger, "What's wrong?" Misty asked, desperately trying to make her voice sound soothing instead of frantic.

The man put his head in his hands and continued crying, ignoring Misty. She glanced around hopefully for one of the poison ninjas but then returned to the man.

"What's your name?" Misty asked.

"Ph-phi-il..." the man blubbered.

Misty nodded, "Okay Phil, that leg's probably broken so I'm going to have to freeze it before anything else happens." Phil looked up at her with terrified red eyes but Misty forced a comforting smile, "Starmie will make sure it won't hurt."

She stood up and stepped out of Starmie's way. Ice shot at the man's leg. Starmie traced Phil's leg ice beam until it was completely frozen.

Misty put her hand on Phil's shoulder but to her horror he put his head back in his hands, "Are you okay!? Does it hurt!?"

He continued crying but managed to force out a sentence, "They were in there." Misty looked back at the collapsed Pokémon centre and felt herself cry.

"Koga! Janine!" she called out again and finally she got a response. Koga was jogging towards them. Though he was trying not to let it show he was limping.

"Phil!" Koga immediately noticed the destroyed centre but he was already hiding so much of his grief that it seemed impossible for him to express it. Koga turned to Misty, "What is the situation with Cinnabar and the Seafoam Islands?"

Misty's face fell. The book had made her forget all about Cinnabar! "Falkner's cell was destroyed." she explained, "But I found something awful."

She handed the sodden book to Koga and he opened it, squinting to read to blurred ink. Koga looked back to Misty, "If his cell was compromised it means he's either dead or on the run." he handed the book back to Misty, "It's a book of dead people." he concluded but he continued before Misty could voice the obvious problem, "Or so it's meant to be. As an elite it's my job to make sure that doesn't happen. I need you to protect Fuchsia while I track him down."

"Isn't Janine here?"

Koga shook his head, "Janine was held up in Vermillion City. She won't arrive in time." Misty was halfway through a confused nod when Koga leapt onto his Venomoth and began shooting off.

* * *

To reach Pallet Town Skarmory had to soar above Cinnabar Island and Falkner realised how little he cared that it had completely crumbled. Blaine wasn't a very important person to him. He'd only been one of the cogs in the Indigo League's rusted machine which had stopped him from preventing the very disaster they were living in but then Falkner laughed. Skamory's eyes widened in shock at the harsh sound but Falkner didn't see its expression. The disasters were only the start of the league's punishment but it only made sense for them to endure the very thing he they stopped him from preventing.

The tides had receded and the rain had stopped but Pallet Town was still a mass of water. Every house was damaged in some way and a crack had split the town itself in two. Falkner thanked Skarmory but asked it to wait for him as he jumped into the filthy seawater.

Sandbags had been shredded and were now littered throughout the water. _Samuel must have been preparing_, the thought made his even more furious, _Samuel knew_!? His already unbelievable hatred for the Kanto researcher grew as he kicked the lab door open.

He looked cautiously at the broken equipment then to the water that surrounded him while he waded through the lab. But he had to stop when he faced a huge block of stone. The roof had caved in and Falkner noticed the red mark slowly being absorbed by it. He saw the faint traces of blood in the water but leant closer, spotting something infuriating.

_Gramps. I'm so sorry I didn't tell you this enough when I could. I love you._

There was a brief moment of confusion, _Oak was...dead_? Falkner's fury exploded and he punched the stone. _Oak had escaped_! He rushed outside then met Skarmory's eyes as he began thinking vicious thoughts. Oak would _not_ rest in peace. He'd manage that much. He smiled insanely. Their deaths would be killing two pidgey with one geodude.

Falkner mounted Skarmory and they began flying towards Violet City. He wanted revenge but he was no fool. He was freezing, injured, soaked and he had no Pokémon except for Skarmory so he had to collect himself before fighting anyone. He _had_ to survive. For his father.

From the air he saw the devastation in its entirety. There was utter chaos and the ocean seemed to be alight where cities had been consumed by water and destruction. No-one had seen anything like it and no-one could quite believe it except for Falkner. His nightmares had already become his life. Nothing could horrify him anymore, not even himself.

The sun was starting its gradual descent past the horizon but Johto was a mass of havoc. In the distance Falkner managed to make out Cianwood City and wasn't surprised after seeing the state of Cinnabar to find it destroyed. Skarmory continued soaring and Falkner was scanning more of Johto when a thought occurred to him. The war was over. The thought of Hoenn winning made his blood boil but he forced himself to calm down. Hoenn had made sure that he got his revenge by trapping them all in a cage of storms; he'd deal with them later.

Falkner frowned at the sight of thick smog falling over Violet City but it only took a quick look south to find the problem. The earthquakes had destroyed the various machines in that bugger's* precious ruins and left them spewing smoke over _his_ city.

Skarmory swooped down to the city, its powerful wings dispersing all the smoke around it but then Falkner found gladly that Violet City must have been one of the least damaged cities he'd seen. Similar to Pallet Town it was awash with a layer of water from near the Bellsprout Tower but all that mattered was that the buildings were all but one intact.

Skarmory landed next to the Violet City Gym and Falkner threw the doors open. The vast room's low lighting cast a sombre atmosphere over the gym and every time one of his black soles or Skamory's knife-like talons hit the wooden floor the sound echoed dramatically.

Gyms were the property of the current gym leader so in the Violet Gym there was a hidden locker for whoever the leader was. His father had told him about it when he'd been handing over the position but Falkner hadn't had the opportunity to tell Rod about it. Falkner had hidden his Pokémon in his locker the night Janine and Whitney betrayed him to guard them. The noctowl he'd had that night had been taken away from him but now he had the rest.

Falkner rapped on a seemingly random part of the wall and the door swung open. It was slightly bigger than an average portable safe. He inspected the contents, not quite remembering what he'd put in there. Falkner found a belt of pokéballs, a box of zephyr badges and his gun. He was about to take it out when the sound of the massive doors opening shattered the quiet and let the dull light from outside come flooding into the dark room.

There was a shadow blocking the block of light now shining on Falkner so he quickly turned around to find the source. The two men had stopped to stare at the other. The person was shrouded in shadow and his face was hard to make out while he was staring at a supposedly imprisoned man soaked to the skin with blood on his clothes.

He turned back to the locker without worry. Falkner voice felt rusty from not being used often for months, "Why isn't Rod here? Didn't Clair appoint him the new gym leader?"

Abe kept staring incredulously at Falkner but was also a bit nervous. He'd respected Falkner for years but him being arrested mysteriously was unnerving.

He swayed anxiously from side-to-side as he talked, "Rod was killed shortly after you...left."

Falkner nodded and wrapped his belt of pokéballs around his waist, aware that Abe was still staring at him.

"What did you do?" Abe wondered, breaking the tense silence.

Falkner smirked. It wasn't a surprise the cowardly league had kept his crime a secret, "I tried summoning Ho-oh and Lugia to protect us from Hoenn." his tone was odd. It was as if he was chuckling at the irony and being angry at his false imprisonment yet achieved neither.

Abe visibly relaxed. He'd always known Falkner was no criminal and now it was confirmed. He'd tried to save Johto.

"But how did you escape? The Seafoam Islands _must_ have been destroyed."

Falkner straightened up and gazed up at Skarmory who was perched on the sky platform above, "When my cell was destroyed Skarmory came and saved me." Falkner suddenly remembered something, "Oh, Oak's dead."

Abe gasped but Falkner cut off his question angrily, "It wasn't me. He was gone by the time I was there." Abe thought the anger stemmed from him accusing the former gym leader but Falkner suspected it was from him _not_ being the one.

Falkner took the last item out of the locker and faced Abe who was still lingering at the threshold. The open doors were allowing the smog to come in and Abe started coughing.

"Where did...this come from?" he spluttered in between coughs and Falkner gestured vaguely to the Ruins of Alph's direction.

"The earthquakes damaged Bugsy's equipment..." Falkner jumped at Abe, yelling for Skarmory to use heat wave.

Abe's eyes widened in terror but then a blast of acid shot past him and he realised that Falkner just saved his life. Abe watched in fear as Falkner began fighting with what looked like dark smoke until Skarmory used its large crimson wings to blow away the cover.

"Koga!" Abe cried but the two were already fighting furiously. Even without the element of surprise Koga was a formidable foe but Falkner was surprising.

Sensing the weakness, Falkner slammed his foot into Koga's and the ninja involuntarily yelled out in pain. Falkner's fist found the older man's chest and Koga was knocked back. Koga knew he should have been able to take out a gym leader but maybe his foot was worse than he'd realised.

Koga flattened his palm and darted at Falkner like a human sword and though it struck Falkner it was not the finishing blow it should have been. Falkner punched Koga in the face then followed it with a kick to the gut. Koga doubled over, his eyes wide in surprise, and then Falkner smashed his boot into Koga's foot again. The elite cried out again and when his gaze met the gym leader's fear shot through him. He saw a madness he'd seen before but Koga was not one to give into fear.

"Screech!" Koga yelled and Falkner was suddenly bombarded by pure sound. He pressed his hands to his ears and Skarmory shrieked painfully but abruptly the sound was silenced. A fearow had a minimised muk trapped in its talons and Abe thrown a wild punch at the back of Koga's head. Koga slumped and Abe stepped back in shock for a moment before Falkner waved it off reassuringly.

"That didn't kill him." Falkner paused, "He was going to kill us..."

Abe gasped and then looked appreciatively to Falkner, "Thank you."

Falkner nodded but didn't stop glaring at the dark blue haired ninja who'd just attacked, Janine's father...

* * *

***I'm sorry for how violently British that sounds but I **_**had**_** to make that joke.**

* * *

**Falkner is out and Koga is at his mercy.**

**I made sure that Falkner doesn't originally act _too_ crazy around the people of Violet City because it still takes a force behind him to make people obey him out of fear and no-one would join a madman (except maybe Janus and Rose)**

**And poor Koga. I had to give a handicap because it would have been an insult for him to have been just taken out.**

**I hope you enjoyed this chapter and please review with any comments, questions or suggestions for the series so it can improve! :D**


	18. Chapter 18

Karen's Honchkrow landed among fallen trees, waterlogged earth and splintered buildings. She looked around worriedly and called out for Ferro. But he didn't need to answer because she'd already spotted him trying to remove some of the shattered wood off the ground.

"Ferro!" she called and he turned to the sound of her voice but, to her horror, Ferro backed away. His eyes were wide in fear and he cried out in terror.

"Ferro?" Karen's voice sounded heartbroken but Ferro's eyes were now clenched shut and he pressed his hands against his ears. She looked around for a source of fear but found nothing scary until her eyes rested on the wood he was trying to move. She brought her hands to her mouth as the reality dawned on her.

Karen embraced her husband, "You're safe. I'm here now." she whispered reassuringly but none of her words seemed to penetrate his fear-ridden mind.

They stood still in the midst of sadness, Karen racking her mind for a way to comfort Ferro but finding nothing. Why was he so afraid?

"Karen!" someone cried out in relief and Karen turned to see Will landing with his Xatu by his side. His mask covered his eyes but the sadness he felt at seeing such destruction was apparent.

"Is Mahogany safe?" Karen asked and Will nodded.

"They froze the Lake of Rage just in time to stop the flooding. A guy called Gerardo was so offended that Clair sent me that he kicked me out. I was flying to Ecruteak when you two crossed my mind."

Ferro's eyes opened to see who the newcomer was but then he screamed, backing back even further. Karen's face fell before darting towards Will, trying to find what was terrifying Ferro.

"Will, return Xatu." she commanded, recalling Honchkrow as he did so. Both of their gazes turned to the researcher, trying to find out if it had worked.

Karen placed an assuring hand on her husband's shoulder and smiled softly, "They're gone now." the words were forming heavy chains on her heart.

Ferro opened his eyes again and looked around anxiously. When he found nothing he relaxed but then tears started rolling down his face. Karen hugged her husband again while Will gazed at Mount Mortar and Route 42.

Karen couldn't believe it. She had to chose between her love and her life, not that there really was a choice for it, but she needed to find a way to protect him.

"All the water in Route 42's gone." Will remarked and Karen looked at him, "Maybe it's gone in Mount Mortar too." he explained.

Karen's eyes widened in shock at what he was suggesting, "I can't abandon Kahto!" she cried.

Will smiled, "You won't be. I'll bet he's not the only one. It's not like the League can do much if people are scared of Pok..." he looked cautiously at Ferro and stopped himself. "You can gather as many people from this area while I sort things out."

Karen hugged her best friend appreciatively but her eyes were misting over. It felt like a good-bye. Will grinned and subconsciously readjusted his mask, grateful that Karen couldn't see the tears forming under it. His first instinct was to speed off on Xatu but he reminded himself of Ferro and began sprinting off to Mount Mortar.

Karen looked back to her husband and smiled encouragingly but found his eyes fixated on Will's direction with an odd expression on his face.

* * *

Whitney's dread at facing Olivine's crumbled wall had only grown with her strolling cautiously through the ghost-town of a city. Jasmine was friends with Hoenn and had their people with her but Whitney had no idea where any of them had gone. She was wading through sea water but was too confused to fully care about it. Clair had sent Whitney to check on Olivine's situation while the champion sorted out Goldenrod and Janine had noticed Vermillion as she'd been flying to Fuchsia City so between them they had a pretty good scope on Kahto's state. It wasn't good at all and Whitney found herself being worried over small things, such as her pokégear finding it hard just to reach Kanto.

"Olivine's completely empty." Whitney explained on the open line as she peeked inside yet another barren house. Everyone's stuff was still there but she couldn't find the 'everyone'.

"Why don't you try Cherrygrove?" Janine suggested, "Maybe Morty knows something about what happened to them?"

Whitney nodded but found her head turning north instead of east, "I'll be there soon." she said distractedly and she began running. Cherrygrove wasn't somewhere you could run to easily from Olivine City but Whitney knew that. She wasn't being stupid she just remembered her Uncle's farm on Route 39.

"Uncle!" Whitney called out and Mil-Mil was mooing out similar cries and consulting some of the miltank.

"Whitney?" someone replied. It wasn't her uncle but Whitney ran to her anyway.

The beauty's long wavy caramel hair was tied in a bedraggled ponytail and her bare feet were muddy but she looked pleased to see Whitney all the same.

"Charlotte? What are you doing here?" Whitney wondered and Charlotte looked at the sodden ground sadly.

"I managed to save Charlie." she explained, indicating to baby miltank cowering next to her feet. Whitney frowned. _Why do you look so sad about a good thing_? she thought and soon Charlotte had mustered up enough courage to tell the gym leader.

Whitney's irises shrank in disbelief and soon a waterfall of tears was cascading down her face. Her knees couldn't take the shock and buckled. Whitney fell to the floor while Charlotte too was consumed by the grief and the two of them were crying.

Whitney just wanted to dive under a blanket and hide from the world as she'd done when she was seven and her father had died but as a League member she'd never be allowed to. Whitney began cursing her weakness. Why was everyone so much stronger than her?

Her entire body was trembling in despair but somehow she noticed her pokégear buzzing. She fumbled with the device, her mind addled with grief, then opened it onto a surprisingly hopeful conversation.

"That's brilliant!" Brock cried.

Whitney wiped her face, "What's happened?" she interjected.

"The caves underneath the Indigo Plateau." Bruno began, "There's a small bunker underneath the Plateau but the caves themselves are massive. We can probably set up an emergency shelter for those who wouldn't be able to face the night."

Whitney's eyes widened in shock.

"Where is Jasmine?" Clair asked Whitney.

Whitney frowned in the direction of Olivine, "Olivine's completely empty. I've got no idea where anyone is."

Clair sighed, "If they're gone then there's nothing we can do about it. I want you all to continue securing towns and cities but if there are difficulties with shelters you can take them to the Plateau. The door's a simple badge lock. But can Blue, Brock and Bruno sort things out there first."

Bruno and Brock agreed gladly but Blue's answer was choked with sadness, "I-I'm already there."

Clair nodded and shut her pokégear, noting the odd connection but not thinking much of it.

Whitney turned to Charlotte, "There's a shelter being set up under the Indigo Plateau." Whitney managed a smile, "You can be safe!"

Hope flickered in Charlotte's eyes before she could stop herself, "No..." she said quietly and Whitney looked at her, crestfallen.

"W-why not? I couldn't save Uncle, I want to at least save you." she protested.

Charlotte patted little Charlie's head and smiled softly at the scared Pokémon, "I don't want to save myself really. Plus I've got something to do elsewhere."

Whitney's heart began aching at her friend's selflessness. Why was this so easy for other people?

Whitney sniffed and forced a smile. She stood up and called out Kiss-Kiss, "I'll see you later then." Whitney mounted Kiss-Kiss and they shot off towards Cherrygrove City.

* * *

Clair found Blue atop the Plateau looking out into the distance at the Everstorm. Clair looked back and finished handing off the last injured citizen into Bruno's care and walked up to the younger gym leader.

"What's happened?" she asked. She wanted to tell him to get back to work but throughout the day Clair kept reminding herself that people were grieving.

Blue's eyes lowered towards Pallet Town. He had a hand in his pocket, clutching Oak's pokégear, "Gramps died. I know that others did too but I just wish..." Blue's voice trailed off but Clair understood.

"Is Daisy alive?" Clair asked and Blue nodded.

"She said she's just getting something." he explained.

Clair turned back to her Dragonite and jumped onto the orange dragon's back, "As long as you two are alive then Oak will be happy." they shot off and soared into the distance.

Ever since Bruno's suggestion Clair had been busy flying across Kahto collecting people too injured to survive the night and those who could heal them, ignoring everyone's insistence on treating her.

Dragonite was flying across Johto when Clair noticed something unusual. She'd been well aware of Bugsy's equipment causing a smoke cloud but as she flew past she saw it mysteriously pass the boundaries of Violet City.

Clair ordered Dragonite to stop and hover while she surveyed the situation. Specks she expected were flying-types were protecting the city from smog while quite a crowd seemed to be gathering at the centre.

Curious, Clair and Dragonite edged closer to the city but then as her sight improved, what she saw became more and more troubling.

The crowd had formed a kind of circle around two men. One of which Clair would describe as wild while the other was dressed in black. The troubling thing about the image was part of the crowd seemed to be holding the man in black back while the other had one arm raised.

Clair had only just recognised the two when the explosive sound pierced the air and resonated throughout her mind until she released it in a scream, "Koga!"

The man in black fell to the ground and the crowd scattered away from him. She saw the wild man look up at her and fear shot through her just as a bullet ripped through the airspace next to Dragonite. Her eyes widened in terror then she clenched her fists. She wanted to fight but reason stopped her. She had no strength in her arm, there was an empty pit in her stomach where food should have been and Dragonite was exhausted.

Clair flipped open her pokégear and ordered Dragonite to soar towards Blackthorn City, "Everyone! Falkner is alive and dangerous! I need all hands on deck to take him down!"

"Wh-what?" Misty stuttered.

"What happened?" Blue asked and Clair halted. She both wanted and feared Janine to be on the line.

"Koga was murdered. He was shot." she explained and the shock from the League was explosive.

"Sh-shot?" Janine repeated meekly.

Pain shot through Clair but she had to ignore it, "I need people to get over to Johto and take him down!"

"I'll make him pay!" Blue snarled but then Misty's cries cut him off.

"You can't! He has a death wish for all of us!"

"What!? How do you know this?!" Clair demanded.

"I found a book in his empty cell. Koga called it 'a book of dead people' and said he'd make sure it doesn't come true. It had _all_ our names in it."

There was a sharp intake of breath and everyone waited for Clair's verdict, "Pointlessly losing our lives would accomplish nothing." she eventually said, "Misty, were there any civilians in that book?"

Misty tried to recall the blurred writing, "There was Walker, if he counts, and Oak. We should make sure he's okay."

"It's too late for that." Blue's tone was flat and inexpressive.

Misty gasped, "Do you think...?"

Blue shook his head, "The roof of his lab collapsed. It wasn't a murder."

"Then the League is his only target. I refuse to let anyone else die by his hand. Grab whoever's with you and bring them to the Indigo Plateau. Don't sidetrack or let him find out where you're going." Clair commanded and with varying degrees of reluctance most of the League members agreed. Clair took careful notice of those who hadn't.

Dragonite had landed in Blackthorn City and Clair realised with a heavy heart that she hadn't checked on her own city yet.

The people there seemed shocked to see her but Clair was so glad to see them. The people of Blackthorn were resilient and had been working hard despite being some of the worst affected inland cities.

The large rock walls that surrounded had mostly crumbled onto the several buildings but a large crowd of dragons and trainers had been blasting away the rubble. Clair saw that someone had even removed the stone that had been covering Lance's statue.

People came up to her and she tried explaining the situation as quickly as possible while she started walking to the route outside Blackthorn City.

"Falkner has escaped and is planning to kill the Indigo League. The current plan is to save as many people as possible by giving them shelter under the Plateau."

Clair reached her destination and threw out all of her Pokémon, including Lance's dragonite. Many people were momentarily blinded as all six of them suddenly used hyper beam.

Clair's cape billowed fiercely from the intense power caused by the simultaneous hyper beams and one by one her Pokémon had to stop. When they were done a long, uneven, circular tunnel stretched all the way to the caves beneath the Plateau, the edges still glowing with heat.

"Falkner might have followed me to the Plateau so we'll need an alternative arrangement." she turned back to the people.

Some of the older people and families stepped forwards but most of the Blackthorn people omitted. Paul stepped forwards, "We understand why you've reached your limits. Protect them but you can leave Kahto to the people. It's our turn now."

Clair nodded appreciatively and turned to her dragonite, "Whirlwind." she commanded and the searing rock was immediately cooled by the winds. Clair led the willing people through the tunnel and only spared one glance back.

* * *

**With that shot Falkner sealed not only the fate of him and Koga, but the fate of Kahto!**

**Dramatic line aside, I hope you enjoyed this chapter so please review with any comments, questions or suggestions for the series so it can improve! :D**


	19. Chapter 19

**In traditional British fashion, I will start with the apologies.**

**Sorry for such a long wait, my internet was done for 4 days straight and I had homework, and sorry for such a short chapter but I felt like ending it there and I wanted to get this out.**

* * *

Brock, Misty, Janine, Blue, Will, Bruno, Whitney and Clair sat around a table in a room identical to the one that had been in the Indigo Plateau along with Bill and Daisy.

"Does anyone know what's happened to the rest?" Clair asked, looking around at the remaining eight people.

"Erica's refused to leave Celadon City and Sabrina's completely surrounded her city with opaque shields so I've got no idea what her reasoning is." Misty supplied. She wasn't the only one who kept glancing at Whitney and Janine who were looking shell-shocked. Misty couldn't even imagine what Janine was going through. Her father was killed by her best friend.

Clair turned expectantly to Will, "Karen's in Mount Mortar protecting a group of poképhobics."

"And Cinnabar Island was completely destroyed, like Cianwood. Blaine's almost definitely dead." said Bruno.

"Bugsy and Morty too..." Whitney kept staring at the table, her voice was hollow, "There's no sign of him in Azalea and there's no response in Cherrygrove."

Clair nodded grimly, "At least we know." she looked to Blue, "What of the other regions?"

With the Everstorm trapping them, the other regions couldn't come to help them but Clair felt that they deserved to know what was going on and, she wouldn't dare say it in front of other people, she needed some advice.

Blue spun his pokégear on the table idly as he talked, "Bill says that there are two reasons they can call each other but can't even reach Hoenn." he ticked them off his fingers as he listed the two, "Either they're internally broken from the fighting and junk which could be fixed fairly quickly, or the earthquakes did something to the machines that control the network. If that's the case then it'll take a long time and that's only _if_ it's possible to fix."

Then there was the donphan in the room.

Clair glanced at Whitney and Janine but sighed. As sorry as she felt for them they knew Falkner better than anyone and if they constantly skirted around topics they'd get nothing done.

Clair looked through the book Misty had given her. It had dried with time so now the pages were wrinkled but less fragile. The ink was blurred but the names were clear.

"We're all on this list. That means we can guess that we're all targets." Clair summed up.

"If it had been _anyone_ but Koga I thought we could've taken him." Bruno said sadly, "But he was a part of the elite four _and_ trained in combat and stealth."

"Falkner's had training too. He was a police officer and the most dangerous thing about him is his arms training." Blue said, "We'll have to..."

Janine stood up abruptly. All eyes fell on her and her face rapidly burned at the attention before she brought her pink scarf up to her nose and dashed off. Everyone watched her go and tried not to look at Whitney. Clair put her head in her hands.

* * *

Red didn't know much after he woke up. He knew that his head was pounding and his entire body ached but he had no idea where Articuno had gone or where he was.

Red tried to get up but it took a long time of stiff movement to manage even that. There was an annoying sense of fragility around him and his stomach kept groaning from the absence of food.

There was no hat atop Red's head, which didn't really come a surprise to him, Red no longer had his bag and his pokégear had been shredded but he found all his Pokémon still around his belt. With that reassurance Red looked around, trying to find out where he was.

Since he was on land he guessed that he'd made it past the weird storm into Kahto but apparently, barely.

He'd been lying unconscious on a bed of rocks for who-knows-how long and there was a sheer rock face behind him while he was facing the Everstorm.

The swirling mass of water and wind was only a few metres away from his face and Red immediately scrambled back in fear then winced at the effort. Breathing was becoming difficult from the wind blasting his face and Red convinced himself to move.

He put his hand on a nearby rock and though it shook violently with the strain Red stood up. He threw out Charizard and with the fire-type's help Red mounted it. Charizard shot into the air, hoping to reach their home in Pallet Town so they could sort some things out while getting a grasp on Kahto's situation on the way.

But sadly he found himself too dizzy to see properly. His eyes were working but his mind was too fuzzy to make sense of what it told him.

"Is it me...or is the Plateau gone?" Red asked Charizard with a concerned expression on his face, hoping simultaneously that he wasn't hallucinating and that what he was looking at wasn't the truth.

Charizard roared and began swooping down. Red couldn't deny the flat land he was walking on where a building should have been, where ruins had taken the places of walls.

"Lance!" he yelled out in a panic, "Karen! Bruno! Koga! Will!" at least one of the five were always at the League headquarters. He hoped at least someone would stick around what was left of it.

Red looked around in a confused manner. What had happened here? Charizard roared into the distance but the only reply they got was Charizard's own echo.

There was a sharp hiss which made Red jump before he was tackled. Red yelped at the pain but then saw it was Blue with a massive relieved grin on his face. The hug quickly turned into a headlock as they'd always done but Blue quickly stopped because of the awful sound his friend was making.

"Bl-Blue?" Red croaked.

"Red!" Blue cried happily then he stood back, smiling.

"What happened? Where's the building gone?"

Blue's face fell, "You've missed a _lot_." he said simply before ushering his weary friend inside, promising to explain everything once Red could manage at least a hundred metres unassisted. It was scary to think that his friend had become so beat up but Red assured Blue that he wasn't as bad as he looked.

Blue brought him to the remaining League members and everyone seemed relieved and glad to see him but whenever he mentioned certain people or the building all their faces fell. Red couldn't believe what he'd missed but the reality was pretty hard to ignore.

In a year of training in Sinnoh, almost half the league had died and two regions had been brought to the brink of destruction.

"Why are you all here!?" he yelled, a sudden burst of anger rising to the surface, "Why aren't you helping everyone!?"

Clair stood up straighter and her eyes narrowed slightly as if she was angry but luckily for Red she didn't bring out her whip. Clair had changed in the past year too.

"Koga was murdered and that person has a death wish for all of us. Our help would be limited if all we could do was die or put others in danger from the attempts."

Red put a hand to his temple and breathed deeply, "Who is it?"

Blue folded his arms and frowned sadly, "Falkner. He wants revenge, either for his dad's death or his imprisonment."

Red groaned. Every answer he got only came with a million more questions, "What?" he asked exasperatedly.

"Walker died in a battle against Glacia. Then he tried using Ho-oh and Lugia to destroy Hoenn so we had to arrest him." Bruno explained grimly.

Red sighed.

"One thing I want to know; is how in the world you got here." said Brock.

Clair nodded, "With the Everstorm in place how did you manage to pass into Kahto?"

Red scratched the back of his head and winced at the memory, "Barely." he admitted, "If I'd been riding Charizard I'd be dead but thankfully it was Articuno." Blue raised an eyebrow at Red and the latter smirked, "They wouldn't let me leave from Sinnoh so I needed a fast and intimidating mode of transport. Shame it flew off before I woke up."

Clair sighed and crossed her arms, "Even with Articuno's power you almost didn't make it. Only Ho-oh or Lugia themselves could dispel such a storm." she noticed Red's tired face and her face softened, "But you better get some rest. We can postpone this conversation for tomorrow."

Blue patted Red on the shoulder and led him away but Red's head was spinning more than when he'd been riding on top of a speeding, flaming Pokémon. He'd missed so much but at least he was in a place surrounded by familiar faces.

Blue had shown his friend around what was quickly becoming a very liveable shelter. After a week of bed rest he felt straight out of the packaging but Red never felt quite at peace. There was no denying the atmosphere of being trapped there.

_He_ could have left but Clair and the rest were admitting a serious threat and were stuck as a result. Red could feel the sadness and before the end of the second week he couldn't bare it anymore.

Red had debated for days whether to tell Blue or not but eventually he'd decided. His decision was for them after all and at least one of them needed to know where in the world he was going. Blue had wanted to stop Red but Red _was_ the champion after all and they thought to similarly for Blue not to understand.

All his Pokémon had been healed and both Pikachu and Charizard were standing determinedly by their trainer. Blue had showed him how to exit the city and had promised to stop anyone who'd try to stop him. Red was nervous about having to face someone who'd killed _Koga_ but he was happy that he'd finally be acting as the champion he should have been.

* * *

**Even though I don't watch Game of Thrones I know enough about it to begin thinking about George R.R. Martin whenever I write these latest chapters.**

**"Did you like Koga? Did you like Red? Too bad!"**

**Hope you liked this chapter so please review with any comments, suggestions or questions about the series! :D**


	20. Chapter 20

The bastards had run away. Falkner could believe cowardly traitors like them would have done so but he hadn't expected someone as foolhardy as Clair to refuse a fight.

The Everstorm had trapped them in Kahto yet somehow they'd still managed to escape him. Falkner knew who was left. Morty, Sabrina and Erica had walled themselves up in their cities but everyone else had hidden from him like the scared rattatas they were.

He didn't care about Erica or Sabrina but Morty had gone to excessive lengths to make sure Falkner couldn't breach the Cherrygrove dome.

Hyper beam tore through the air but phased through the bricks before being redirected at him. Falkner returned his fatigued pidgeot mid-flight to avoid being hit and quickly threw it back out again to avoid crashing into the dirt below.

None of the physical attacks could even scratch the red clay while all special attacks only sailed back at greater speeds towards them. Falkner balled up his fists and slammed them into the dome one by one to no avail.

Koga's death hadn't been a decision he'd made on a whim. It _had_ been Clair who'd screamed that day yet it hadn't brought on a battle as he'd thought. Clair's cowardice had come to the point of letting someone die rather than face him.

He punched the dome again and Pidgeot screeched aggressively but silence was Morty's only reply. Falkner glared at the Cherrygrove boundary as he thought about what he should do. He doubted Clair would have trusted Erica or Sabrina with their location so he thought it pointless to go after either of them at present.

The people of Kahto were furious at the desertion but no-one knew where the gym leaders had gone. That or they were refusing to tell him. Blackthorn was a city full to the brim of stubborn people who would rather die than betray Clair, something that clearly wasn't mutual considering she'd disappeared along with the rest, so attacking there would yield no results either.

Falkner then realised he'd been unconsciously playing with Koga's badge as he thought. He brought it up to his line of sight and wondered why he'd even taken it in the first place. The little pink heart sickened him and he wanted to hurl it away like the rubbish it represented but resisted the urge.

Janine...She'd fled too but at least Falkner knew she was not unscathed. The weight of her father's death would be the chains that dragged her down until he caught up to her. The memory of her betrayal only brought on more rage and he found himself swearing once again to his father that he'd let him rest in peace.

Violet City was his advantage. Hardly any other city had come out quite as unscathed and the people there were quick to believe Falkner's innocence. After he'd saved Abe's life there was no need not to. They were searching Kahto for the league but there'd been no clues at all.

Pidgeot cawed in alarm and Falkner's gaze found the Indigo Plateau's ruins. His eyes narrowed furiously. They'd sent someone else to do their work for them.

Falkner hadn't recognised the trainer but leapt back onto Pidgeot and they shot towards the charizard.

"Heat wave!" he commanded and a funnel of spiralling heat tore through the air towards the flame Pokémon. He knew it wouldn't be very effective but he was really aiming for the trainer.

Red's eyes widened in fear and Charizard came to a halt. They'd been spotted and a mass of blistering hot air was charging their way.

"Fire blast!" Red yelled and Charizard rapidly countered. The blast of searing air collided with the five pointed flames and both flying-types were blown back by the impact of the resulting explosion.

Surprise shot through Falkner as Pidgeot's massive wings flapped quickly to avoid crashing into the brick dome behind them. He gritted his teeth angrily. How could that charizard's fire blast be powerful enough to destroy his heat wave?

Both trainers shouted moves at the same time and fire blast met twister, colliding with tremendous energy. The dragon energy seemed to catch fire and sent flaming gusts all across Route 29, lighting most of the trees below on fire.

Red lowered his arm and saw the Pidgeot dash towards it, "Pikachu, iron tail!" the younger trainer yelled and Pikachu leapt off Charizard into the battle.

Its now metal tail smashed into Pidgeot's head and used the bird's face as a spring-board so it could jump back onto its trainer's charizard. Falkner followed the Pokémon's path incredulously and growled, wondering how a boy could be fighting him like this.

Then Falkner suddenly recognised the trainer as Red. _That's_ why he'd been giving him such trouble. He couldn't believe the League had sent someone so young instead of facing him personally.

Falkner leapt into the air above his Pidgeot and quickly swapped them, landing back on his Aerodactyl's back. Red couldn't believe the skill in what he'd just seen but then Aerodactyl unleashed a swarm of rock shards at him.

"Air slash!" he called, unable to keep the panic out of his voice, and the cluster of rocks split in two. They shot at the air on either side of Red and he exhaled in relief but Falkner's aerodactyl had advanced.

"Where are they?!" Falkner demanded and Red's eyes widened.

Red hadn't realised that Falkner had been looking for them and because he had that valuable information he understood that this was going to a lot more brutal than he'd wanted it to be.

Red remained stubbornly silent except for calling out moves but his silence was not taken well. Aerodactyl lunged at Charziard's long neck, its stone-like talons bared, and Charizard cried out in pain.

"_Pika_!"

Falkner yelled in pain and lightning surged through his body and Aerodactyl was blasted away. Red felt a pang of guilt at attacking a person like that but any guilt disappeared as the ex-gym leader charged again.

"Fire blast!" Red commanded and Aerodactyl abruptly stopped in time to use protect. The fire smashed into an invisible shield and Red frowned as the flying-type kept attacking.

Red managed to keep the two away with Pikachu and Charizard but he was becoming increasingly confused about what to do. If he knocked out Falkner there was a good chance he'd recover before Red got help and even then there would be no prison for him this time. But Red didn't even want to consider the other option. He couldn't.

Falkner took advantage of Red's distraction and a boulder smashed into Charizard's side. Red threw his arms around the flame Pokémon's neck to keep on but then screamed as Pikachu slipped through his fingers. He tried to return it before it fell but he couldn't move quickly enough. Tears welled up in Red's eyes but there was no time for mourning.

"Focus blast!" Red yelled but Falkner's aerodactyl swooped out of its trajectory, letting it sink through the Cherrygrove dome.

Falkner knew where it was headed and ordered Aerodactyl to attack Charizard. Aerodactyl shot back to Charizard and without Pikachu Red was finding it hard to shake off the Aerodactyl's talons. Charizard couldn't fly away and they were being held in place which made Red nervous since Falkner seemed to be waiting for something. Red guessed that because he was looking away from Red but then Falkner turned around, smirking insanely and terrifyingly before commanding Aerodactyl to release Charizard.

Red had no idea what was going on right until the focus blast had smashed into him and Charizard.

Red had no idea what was going on right until the focus blast had smashed into him and Charizard. The two of them crashed into the dirt while Falkner and Aerodactyl landed next to the Cherrygrove barrier. He waited a small while curiously and saw Charizard stirring. Its wings stretched out stiffly and it shook in its attempt to get back to its feet. It had survived because of its partial resistance to fighting-type attacks but Red wasn't a flying-type.

Falkner didn't bother following Charizard since it had nowhere of interest to go and lacked the strength to fight him. If it brought back another futile attack then there was no need to pursue.

From Oak to Blue and from Blue to Red, even the smallest connection was enough reason for Falkner now. Not that it mattered to him. Oak would pay, whichever one it was.

Falkner turned away and pounded on the bricks, "There! You're cowardice killed yet another person, Morty!" he snarled. There was no reply but Falkner didn't expect or need one. There was the small comfort that Morty would _not_ be hiding happily.

He found himself walking over to Red and picked up his badge. Red, like Koga, had a badge on him despite not actually being a gym leader. Falkner recognised the green plant-like design and clenched his fist in anger.

Falkner returned Aerodactyl now the battle was over and stood quietly for a moment. He held out Pidgeot's pokéball and the majestic bird Pokémon appeared in front of him.

They flew over to the charred Indigo Plateau and sudden rage began building up in him. Once upon a time he'd respected them but they'd locked him up for half a year despite that. Now even loathing was an understatement.

He kicked the ash-ridden ground and clenched his fists. Falkner opened his hand and let the badges fall to the dirt.

Red had come from here so someone must have returned to his barren hellhole to meet him. That means they'll come back. And when they do they'll receive his message for them. He'd find them, no matter how long it takes and how hard they hide.

He turned his back on the badges and flew away on Pidgeot. Much later that day the message he'd left had been received by the people there. The comforting fact that Falkner didn't know they were under there was nothing compared to the hopelessness that followed. Yet another champion was dead.

Their champion had died and no-one could see any more options. The only clear thing was how their options had shrunk to almost none. All they could do was wait for an opportunity. Sending out civilians was no option at all. Clair refused to put people at risk for her sake but the death of both Koga and Red had seriously diminished their confidence in their own abilities.

Grudgingly they'd had to settle somewhat. They were forced to prioritise the citizens they could protect. They'd re-established an elite four but many of them couldn't quite feel content in their roles.

Will had held on for over a year. He'd helped grow the shelter into a city but found himself being taken over by boredom. He hoped Karen was dealing with being in Mount Mortar better than he was the Indigo City but time was running out for him.

He'd been debating to himself about what to do for weeks up until that point. If he left early into his shift guarding the front gate he'd have a head start on anyone who tried to stop him but leaving later on would make sure the front gate didn't go long without being defended.

Xatu was by his side while Will toyed around with the small golden circled in his hand. He didn't really like Sabrina and her cruel stoicism but as a member of the League he'd needed a badge to get through badge locks and he'd wanted a psychic gym's badge since that was his specialty and all.

"I'm surprised you haven't left by now."

Will stiffened up and slowly turned around to the sound of steady footsteps and Clair's unreadable face. She stopped a short distance away from him and folded her arms.

"Are you gonna try stop me?" he wondered and to his surprise she shook her head.

"I don't see the point since you rarely listen to orders." she paused, "And I trust in your power. I saw you on the security feed and I couldn't leave the door unguarded."

Will hesitated slightly before nodding and smirking. He gestured to his pokégear, "I'll do some exploring before I try fight him. We might as well know what's happened."

Clair nodded appreciatively and watched Will hold the Marsh badge up to the metal door. It snapped to the reinforced metal and the door swung open unhindered. Xatu flew out the door and Will closed it behind him.

The fresh air felt almost odd to him and the midnight winds were biting but he was enjoying his freedom after spending far too much time being cooped up. _How did Karen survive being trapped in Hoenn's Victory Road for so long_? he wondered idly as he and Xatu began flying off. The thought of Hoenn made him feel uncharacteristically angry but he focused on Kahto.

The last time he'd seen the regions they'd been covered in smoke and water but those problems seemed to have been remedied for everywhere but Route 32 since no-one had bothered fixing the equipment in the Ruins of Alph. Will _was_ sad about Bugsy's death but Will couldn't remember a time where they'd ever spoken so it was hard to be upset about it.

Will described what he saw to Clair via the pokégear but there was little he could see from the air. For more information he would have to land and maybe ask around but Will found himself reluctant to do so. All his life he'd been very comfortable in his own skin and rarely cared what others thought of him but he realised that he was ashamed.

If he landed the people would know he'd been hiding for more than a year. If he had died then there'd be an excuse but there was none.

His mind turned to Karen in Mount Mortar but he didn't want to bother her either. He switched off the device and told Xatu to swoop down to Violet City.

As Will had expected there was resistance to him landing but the swam of flying-types who were working to blow away the thick plumes of smog flooding in from Violet City did little to hinder him. Confuse ray had them attacking each other in seconds and Xatu's shadow ball cleared some of the crowd for him.

Will threw out all his Pokémon and braced himself for a fight.

* * *

**Woo hoo! Get out your party poppers because we've reached the 20th (48th) chapter! Thank you to you all for reading and to TarrelYoukai, The Lunar Umbreon, ddreamer9159 and shadowmwape for favouriting and following! :D**

* * *

**Yes, let's celebrate after such a happy chapter (I say sarcastically. On a random note there should be a sarcastic emoticon because it's amazing how many online fights you can get into without one.)**

**I hope you all enjoyed this chapter so please review with any suggestions, comments or questions for the series! :D**


	21. Finale

Life in Mount Mortar was boring but Karen was loving it all the same. Ferro was still the same man she loved and had married and they were doing well in supporting their small community. Now they even had a beautiful baby boy. That was something Karen had never imagined before.

But out of the few people there who wasn't afraid of Pokémon she was the only one who was a trainer so they might as well have not existed in the small bubble of Mount Mortar. She still had all of her Pokémon hidden with her but she hadn't dared releasing them in fear of a massive panic.

Clair had tried calling her but Karen had tried making it clear. If she was going to hide then it was going to be with Ferro and the other poképhobics.

She couldn't believe that Hoenn could have done it. She'd been there to hear them discussing it but Karen had always trusted in Steven's morality to prevent it from ever happening. Not that it mattered to her anymore. Outside may have been a different world to her even if sometimes the worlds collided.

Karen's eyes were well-adjusted to the dark. When she was younger she'd wanted night vision but she managed well enough as long as there was some light and that was why she often patrolled the mountain caves at night.

Ferro had chosen their little 'house' to be the closest to the exit so they could protect the people from anything trying to break in but one night she saw the door opening itself. Karen froze and watched curiously as the locks began glowing with psychic light and moving.

Karen's eyes widened as she realised that it was a trained psychic-type, probably a trainer, and ran to the door. It was opening by the time she got there but she kept a hand firmly on the door, not letting it swing open any more than it had.

Karen looked through the crack and gasped. She recognised the Pokémon as an exeggutor and slipped outside, careful not to let the door make a big sound or let the exeggutor in.

The night's sky was full of clouds and the air had a certain thickness to it that Karen didn't think had been there before. The wind was cold and Karen regretted coming outside without getting a jacket or something.

Exeggutor met Karen's eyes and there was a familiarity to its gaze that helped Karen understood who its trainer was. She looked around expectantly but then looked back to its despair-ridden expression.

"What happened?" she whispered to it.

Exeggutor, like almost every Pokémon, couldn't talk but was usually very skilled in getting across its message. It began swaying rhythmically on the spot as its eyes glowed along with a nearby stick. The broken branch traced a message in the mud.

Karen stiffened up in shock and brought her hands up to her mouth as tears of equal sadness and rage built up in her eyes. What had he done?

Exeggutor had no arms but it leaned in close to Karen and tried giving her a hug. Karen wrapped her arms around the Pokémon but couldn't stop herself from shaking with tears. What had they done?!

Exeggutor shook its head and something fell out of its head leaves onto the dirt next to Karen. Karen wiped her eyes and looked down on what looked like a pokéball. The message was clear.

Karen stiffly crouched down and picked it up off the floor. She straightened up and met Exeggutor's eyes again. There was silence expect for the night-time ambience of birds and winds. She tried to describe what she was feeling to herself but couldn't. Karen felt as if all the lines between emotions had blurred.

Slowly, she raised the pokéball to one of Exeggutor's heads and the entire Pokémon disappeared in a flash of red into the pokéball.

Karen stood in the cold for a long while but then she realised that Ferro would start worrying about her if she was out for too long. She tucked the pokéball away and walked like a sleep-walker back into the mountain caves.

Karen hesitated before entering their room. She was very careful to wipe away all signs of crying before entering.

* * *

Steel was feeling very pleased with himself. His mum had given him some new shoes that had laces on them and he'd managed to tie them up all by himself, even though he was pretty sure that they weren't supposed to be _that_ knotted.

He spotted his mum walking off while his dad was sleeping and Steel wondered where she was going. He tip-toed out of their little home and made sure to be very quiet when following her but found that his mum wasn't going to any of the places he recognised.

She was walking very quickly but her yellow heels weren't making much noise. Steel tried imitating her stealth so she wouldn't notice his small footsteps against hers.

His and his mum's silvery-blue hair were one-of-a-kind in Mount Mortar so she wasn't hard to follow and finally she approached an empty cave. While she entered Steel was careful not to be too noticeable as he peeked around the entrance.

Karen breathed deeply and held out two pokéballs. She wanted to throw all out all of her Pokémon and greet them all but that would be too risky.

A small mass of swirling ghost energy and a sleek black Pokémon appeared before them and the little Steel had to clamp a hand around his mouth to avoid gasping. He'd never seen anything like these strange creatures.

His mum crouched down and grinned at the two, saying in a low voice, "It's been too long. I love you, Spiritomb and Umbreon."

Steel's mum began talking so quietly that he couldn't hear the words but one by one she summoned more and more strange creatures, careful not to have more than two out at a time. The last thing out was black and orange with cool silver horns.

She began chatting to it and it jumped up and down excitedly like it wanted a treat. She shushed it before realising something was beginning to slip.

Houndoom's head turned to the cave's ceiling just before the whole thing began to shake. Karen gritted her teeth. She should have guessed that caves weren't abandoned for no reason but of all the times she'd come there nothing like that had ever happened.

A single chip fell down from the ceiling, an ominously small sign, but what it triggered was massive. More and more began to fall, becoming larger and larger as they went.

"Houndoom!" she cried and the dark Pokémon yipped in fear before blasting a nearby boulder with intense heat. It sent the boulder flying so Houndoom kept up the plumes of fire while Karen covered her head and stayed close.

She had her eyes closed but they jolted open at the sound. The sound of her son screaming.

"Steel!?" she screamed back and her eyes fell on Steel who was clutching his arm and crying. Karen sprinted out of the room and sprinted to her son.

She stroked his hair and shoulder while muttering almost nonsensical comfort very quickly, trying to get him to let her see what had happened to him.

He was trembling and crying but took his other arm away from his left and Karen gasped. A long burn completely covered his arm and she looked guiltily back at Houndoom as she remembered something. _If you are burned by the flames it shoots from its mouth, the pain will never go away_...she hurriedly returned Houndoom and picked up her young son.

Karen got to her feet and after quickly getting her balance she ran back, fully aware of the amount of noise she was making with her clapping feet and crying child but she didn't care if she woke up a few people.

Karen burst through the door and Ferro woke up abruptly, yelping and looking around before staring in horror at what he saw.

Karen couldn't hide the tears in her eyes or the fear in her voice. She sat the bawling Steel on the floor and Ferro almost screamed at the sight of the burn.

"Karen! W-what..? What happened?!" he demanded as he rushed over to Steel. Ferro gingerly touched the burn and a fresh wave of tears poured from Steel's eyes. His eyes darted to Karen, "You d-didn't." The mere idea sent shivers down his spine but he kept his attention on Steel.

He placed an assuring hand on Steel and reached over the small room for the container full of water. Because there was no heat in Mount Mortar it was perfectly cold. Ferro grabbed a nearby cloth and drenched it before resting it on Steel's arm.

Steel winced and cried out but Ferro raised his index finger to his lips and Steel choked back his cries for his dad.

Ferro wrapped the icy cloth around the burned arm while Karen was standing still in shock, not able to get over the look of anger Ferro had given her. Not that she didn't deserve it but that was probably what made it worse.

Ferro felt his arm shaking, "We won't tell him." Ferro's next words sounded forced, "I don't want him to turn out like me."

Karen nodded sadly, "I'm sorry." Karen couldn't help but think that the words sounded so tiny and insignificant.

Ferro sighed, "I know you are."

Karen backed up against the stone wall and ran out of the room. She ran across the Mount Mortar caves to someone she knew.

Karen made sure her face was unreadable before knocking on Shane's door. She'd been waiting for too long in her opinion when the shaggy haired man answered the door.

"Karen?" he yawned and Karen clenched her fists to avoid tapping them nervously. Clair would finally be getting what she wants this way.

"Hello, Shane. I'm sorry to bother you at a time like this but I need to do something very important but I have no paper or pen."

Shane furrowed his eyebrows in confusion but didn't hesitate to get the pad and pen that was lying near the door. Shane had been a very popular author before he'd had to come into Mount Mortar but hadn't stopped writing for a moment so he was usually reliable for stationary. Shane was wondering what important thing Karen would need paper for but trusted that the ex-elite was reliable. She was one of the only League members who'd bothered staying for them after all.

Karen took the notepad gratefully and turned to go back to an empty area to write her letter. She was walking away and heard Shane yawn.

"By the way, say hi to little Steel for me."

It took effort for Karen not to stiffen up, "Okay." she said quickly before walking off hurriedly.

She ran off to a small corner under a torch and began writing sadly. Karen had burned her own son and she knew it would never stop hurting him. She hated what had happened but it was her own weaknesses that had led to this.

But she couldn't deny she was a trainer and one who'd been denying it for too long. Ferro would understand, especially after what she'd done. It was too dangerous for her to stay around any longer.

Karen left her note on just under the door so Ferro would discover it when he opened the door in the morning. She opened the door to the outside and threw out her honchkrow. She'd just seen it but it noticed the much sadder atmosphere and seemed confused to find that they were outside despite Karen having made the situation clear that they couldn't.

She still had her pokégear with her but hadn't used it in years but she needed to find out where Clair was. Karen flipped it open and selected Clair's name. It rang for only a second before being picked up.

Clair's emotions were always hard to read since she'd spent so long trying to hide them from anyone who'd think of them as weaknesses, not that Karen had much of a high rapidash to get down from, but it was clear that Clair was confused to hear from her. She told Karen where they were and also why to make sure she wasn't followed.

Karen couldn't believe it. How could someone like him have killed three much more skilled trainers? She grabbed onto Honchkrow and the two of them flew off warily to the razed Indigo Plateau, Karen with the fog badge in hand. She entered the city with a heavy heart and her thoughts kept drifting towards Ferro and Steel. That letter was definitely not the best way to say good-bye but the only way she could manage. She always wondered what Ferro thought of her after that point.

* * *

Steel didn't really understand why his dad was crying so much. He kept holding a piece of paper and looking sad but every time Steel tried hugging him to make him feel better it always made his arm feel worse. One day he managed to get that piece of paper and though he didn't know really how to read he managed to figure out the sender. Karen. Though his memories of his mum would always be fuzzy he somehow managed to remember that name.

* * *

As sad as it made Karen feel she had to be impressed by the Indigo City. They'd really tried with it but it still felt too much of a cage to her.

Blue, Daisy and Bill had discovered the source of the problem with the pokégears and it wasn't good news for them. It _was_ the network which meant the problem would take much longer to remedy than bearable. They were working mostly with Daisy and Bill's pokégears and when Karen wondered why so little of the people there had any pokégears Blue explained.

There was no way the League could leave safely so the idea was to send pokégears with instructions on them to people on the outside and as much as it killed her to wait she was forced to be patient. Ferro was in no state to travel across Johto with a boy that young but maybe Steel could.

Ten was the age when children could legally start collecting badges and go on journeys but any Karen was too impatient for her own good so she entrusted her own pokégear to Weaville and sent it out to Route 42 knowing that if it failed there would be no way for her to see them again.

* * *

Copper had a waterfall of tears streaming down her face as she sprinted out of Ecruteak City. This was the last time. But every time was the last time...

Her short, rust-coloured hair was rapidly falling out of the bunches and her shoes were now caked in mud but she was focused on one thing and one thing only, getting out of their reach before they began chasing her again.

Copper had spent half her childhood running away and her body trembled at the fear of being caught again but was determined to make it to Mahogany City.

She was in such a hurry that she kept tripping over her own feet but then something caught her foot. Her own momentum shoved her so she slammed face-first into the mud. More tears began forming in her eyes from the stinging but she retracted her leg quickly and looked back then gasped.

Even caked in mud its iconic red and white was noticeable and Copper wanted to back away from what could have been a Zephyr's Pokémon but she also wanted to reach out and have a Pokémon, a way of defending herself, for herself. She was frozen in indecision but eventually her fear buckled.

She grabbed the pokéball and stood up, staring incredulously at it. She could finally fight back. Copper turned back to her destination but then fear shot through her, sending her backwards and her foot crashing onto something that shattered underneath her.

Her eyes were wide in terror as a beast began advancing on her. Its large and sharp teeth were bared and it was snarling. Its fur was as black as a nightmare and its eyes were as red as blood. Its claws were like long white daggers fused to furry limbs and Copper screamed.

There was only darkness. Darkness and pain. The beast's dark-type attack bombarded Copper but she kept clutching the pokéball.

She didn't want to scream for help but found it working out that way. More darkness attacked Copper but she didn't know how to make it stop. She was thrown to the mud and curled into a ball but the attacks kept coming.

But then something crashed into the beast. Its brown wings were tucked into a bullet-like dive and the fearow attacked with aerial ace.

Recognition flashed in Copper and she backed away from the battling Pokémon but ended up backing up into something else. Copper looked up and saw Rose glare at her in all her evilness. Janus was commanding the fearow while Rose reached down and grabbed Copper's arm. The young girl cried out in pain but Rose didn't care at all. They weren't here to save their daughter. They were there to stop something along the lines of a chatot from breaking out of its cage.

"Use pursuit!" Janus ordered and Fearow became enveloped in darkness as it sped towards the fleeing attacker.

Copper screamed in fear and saw Rose look down on her with an evil smirk which terrified her even more. Copper was dragged back into the noxious city and made to sleep.

The next day she received the only type of present Rose and Janus knew how to give, a honchkrow. It wasn't hers. It was a watchman. It was a shadow that lurked around the house and drove fear in Copper's brain. It haunted her but Janus and Rose didn't care. They must have loved it.

She could barely find a moment alone, 'This way you won't try doing something stupid again.' Janus had said but once she had found a way out of Honchkrow's evil, watchful, beady eyes she managed to open the pokéball.

Copper couldn't have hidden her disappointment at it being a chikorita since it would be hard for her to fight again the swarm of flying-types that lingered over Ecruteak City but couldn't help but grin at that little Pokémon's adorable smile. She finally had some company to save her.

* * *

Karen couldn't speak Pokémon but weaville and sneasel communicated via scratching on trees which human's could actually learn to interpret so even though her desk was a mass of chipped wood she could get reports from her Pokémon.

She'd learned that the plan had failed.

She didn't blame Weaville but now there were no more options. With no pokégear she had no more hope of contacting her family. She had always sensed the sadness radiating from the hopeless League members while everyone else in the city had got on with their lives but now she had to admit that she was a part of that.

Karen was patrolling the corridors at night when she heard Blue and Clair discussing something. Not wanting to have to talk with them, she began turning away but then something sparked her curiosity.

"And Oak's pokégear isn't working either?" Clair was affirming.

"I found it during the earthquakes and floods; of course it's not going to work when all the others don't." Blue replied, "I'm gonna return it now. You've seen it even though I could have just told you."

Clair was not happy with Blue's attitude and the two started arguing but an idea had already been formed in Karen's mind.

She ran away back to her room and breathed deeply. There would be more patience needed this time. Blue would suspect something if it disappeared that night but this was her last chance. Days later she threw out Weaville and ordered it to steal Oak's pokégear for her and from that moment on she only had hours to get her plan into action.

Weaville was determined not to fail Karen this time. The sprint to Route 42 filled Weaville with dread caused from the memories but as long as it kept its eyes peeled it was going to be fine.

The door to Mount Mortar loomed over Weaville but it scratched at it, trying to be loud enough to attract attention but not enough to stir up a panic. Weaville's acute hearing picked up sound coming from inside the mountain and it set the pokégear and pokéball on the mud near the entrance before diving into a bush.

It hadn't liked attacking that little girl all those years ago but it would tear through an army of machamp to make sure it was Karen's son who got the message.

The door creaked open and a boy came out unsurely. His silvery-blue was unkempt and his brown eyes showed fear but Weaville watched him pick up the pokégear happily.

Weaville watched the boy pick it up then eventually take it inside and a joy filled it. The countdown had started for Karen. It was only a matter of weeks or even days now.

* * *

**Believe it or not guys but this is the end of Volume Two : The Flashback! We've caught up to the present now.**

**This was a very Karen-centric chapter but I hope you all enjoyed it. Volume Two was very different but I really hope you all enjoyed reading it and will return for the next volume which will be returning to a journey featuring Steel and Copper. I also hope you enjoyed their appearances in this chapter.**

**See you all in a few days (hopefully) and I want you guys to know that I appreciate every one of you! :D**


	22. UPDATE

This is just an update for Pokemon Rust. I've finished the second book and am now writing the third but I'd also like to thank everyone who's been reading and reviewing my story. It means so much to me so thank you! :D

EDIT: Something weird happened with the text so it garbled. Hopefully it's fixed now.


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